Comfort To Me

What an absolute powerhouse of an album. This piece of work has shaped my current listening habits, making me enthralled with the sounds of punk. I don’t think I’m able to pinpoint the exact moment I learned about Amyl and the Sniffers, but I’m sure it closely followed my introduction to the three piece Australian band, The Chats. I have no clue what’s really going on in Australia apart from the invasive cane toad populations and Tame Impala, but something is rousing the people up to create some absolutely stellar punk! I was inspired to write about this album because of Connor at Bernal Cutlery, who sharpened my knife for free because of my Amyl and the Sniffers shirt (a shirt that Rachel and I have matching). The shirt was from the show that the band played at The Great American Music Hall in 2022, a show that Connor and I agreed was one of the best live shows we have seen.

Comfort To Me welcomes you on the first track with a beautiful driving bassline in “Guided By Angels”, arguably one of the best songs on the album. On this song as well as the entire album, Amy Taylor dances this amazing line of creating personal, powerful, and ultimately punk rock lyrics that could bring down a stadium while simultaneously resonate on the individual level. Her delivery makes it apparent that as mentioned in “Guided By Angels”, she does have plenty of energy, and I sure as hell believe that it’s her currency!

Another top notch tune on this album is “Hertz”, where you are greeted with a fuzz laden guitar playing a monophonic line that does nothing but excite, make me want to move, and drive a liiiiiittle faster than I should. In the winter of 2021, I visited my friends Chris, Jack, and Becca in Portland. It was right before I embarked on a roadtrip back to Kentucky with my good pal Peter. I have a vivid memory of going to Chris and Amelia’s home and having an amazing meal that Chris cooked, watching It’s A Wonderful Life, and listening to him DJ. At some point I remember putting on the video to Hertz and Guided By Angels, and saw Jack become an instant fan.

This band truly has it all. As I mentioned earlier, their show at the Great American was one of the best I’ve ever seen. Pure unadulterated energy. Amy Taylor is one of the most exciting and fun performers I’ve seen. With that in mind, it’s hard to articulate how tight, powerful, and fun the other members of this band are. It sounds silly but watching this show made it apparent that each member of the band is exactly where they should be: playing pure speed for all the freaks in the front! Guitarist Dec Mertens has me hooked on every song, but shines particularly in “Capital”, a song that fixates on the meaning of life in a system based in capitalism, and the loss of that meaning that can occur in our capital-centric society. Mertens provides an electric solo that is short and to the point.

I’d highly recommend this album for a total run-through, and if you like what you here it’s certainly worth diving into The Sniffers’ previous songs/albums. Some of my personal favorites include Blowjobs off of Big Attraction, Got You, and Caltex Cowgirl off of Giddy Up!