‘Addictive’ punk band named after poppers stupefies London crowd with defiantly raucous gig-Sarah Hooper-Entertainment – Metro

Amyl and The Sniffers provided a tantalising performance – you’d better watch out, UK (Picture: WireImage)

‘This is a sick world,’ Amy Taylor says, unbuttoning her long trench coat to reveal a nurse’s outfit paired with white knee-high boots. ‘I think we need a nurse to make things feel a little bit better.’

In the tantalising set that followed, 28-year-old Taylor – frontwoman of Melbourne punk band Amyl and The Sniffers – provided much-needed medicine to the audience, with her powerhouse vocals an outfit reminiscent of Enema of the State.

Amyl and The Sniffers kicked off their 2024 tour with an intimate gig at London’s Scala in King’s Cross on Monday, just a week after releasing two highly anticipated singles. 

The Sniffers, whose name comes from the Aussie slang for amyl nitrite, or the party drug known as poppers, have a reputation for hard and fast tunes.  

To hear their music live, inspired by artists ranging from Motörhead to The Stooges, is an experience much better than a temporary high from a popper.

It’s addictive as hell, leaving listeners craving more of their infectious music.

Taylor’s unapologetic attitude is refreshing (Picture: Sarah Hooper)

The Sniffers put on an unforgettable show (Picture: Sarah Hooper)

Their hectic performance, in front of fans ranging in age from teenagers to music addicts in their mid-60s, only went on to solidify their place as one of the best exports from Down Under.

Raucous Atlanta-based band Upchuck set the stage for a chaotic performance. Packed full of energy, frontwoman Kaila Thomspon (KT) even joined the pit for a mosh. 

But the energy seemed to shift even more when Taylor emerged, belting the band’s hits along with drummer Bryce Wilson, guitarist Delcan Mehrtens and bassist Gus Romer’s rhythms, blending together to create a punk lover’s fantasy. 

The Aussie punks make no apologies with their music. You don’t like them? F**k off. 

The audience was wrapped around Taylor’s finger as she moved effortlessly across the stage, using a fan, her microphone and even opening act Upchuck’s frontwoman onstage in the performance. 

In the middle of the crowd, fans surfed until they reached the barricades, before leaning out in bids to touch Taylor’s hand before security guards lifted them back over the dividers. 

Romer’s bass line provides a funky rhythm for the band’s new single (Picture: Sarah Hooper)

It was hard to take your eyes off of Upchuck’s frontwoman KT (Picture: Sarah Hooper)

The Sniffer’s opening UK performance proves that, much like the moustaches and mullets brought to Clapham by Aussie transplants, Amyl and the Sniffers have made their mark on the UK – and are here to stay. 

If their latest single U Should Not Be Doing That wasn’t enough to tell you the band’s opinion on misogyny in the music industry, the photo chosen for the sleeve of their single amplifies their thoughts loud and clear.

On the cover, Taylor is seen taking a wee with a cheeky grin, while Wilson, Mehrtens and Romer nonchalantly wait behind her.

The dizzying performance won’t soon be forgotten (Picture: Sarah Hooper)

Taylor, Romer, Mehrtens and Wilson are incredible live (Picture: Rough Trade Records)

Taylor said of the band’s newest tune: ‘It’s unconscious and meant nothing at the time of writing it but now I think it’s a comedic way of rubbing the dog’s nose in its own dog piss after it wee’d on your favourite rug or something.

‘It makes me laugh, but it’s also in a way poking fun at the shock that people still feel at a little bit of skimpy clothing, and the b*tchy high school way that the music community still is (yes I’m talking to you random 40-year-old metalheads sitting around a table doing lines and b*tching about a 28-year-old chick in a band for wearing shorts and “selling out”) but it mainly makes me laugh.’

The band first infiltrated the UK music scene in early 2019 with their widely successful album Monsoon Rock, riding the tails of Big Attraction & Giddy Up. 

They’ve already won multiple accolades for their album Comfort to Me, so their return with singles Facts and U Should Not Be Doing That has been hotly anticipated.

The rowdy show at Scala on a Monday evening has shown the only way is up for Amyl and The Sniffers: the UK had better get ready.

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