AMYL & THE SNIFFERS // O2 ACADEMY, EDINBURGH
AMYL & THE SNIFFERS play intimate show in Edinburgh at hot and sweaty O2 Academy.
★★★★☆ (4.5/5)
AMYL & THE SNIFFERS PERFORMING AT EDINBURGH’S O2 ACADEMY
PHOTOCREDIT: STUART WESTWOOD
Hailing from Melbourne, Australian, Amyl and the Sniffers are a band that brings an unrivalled amount of ferocious energy and heart to their live performances. The Australian punks can boast an outstanding catalogue of catchy, head banging anthems, full of hard-hitting lyrics, thunderous guitars and killer baselines. Taking their name from the Australian slang for Amyl Nitrate (more commonly known as poppers) front woman Amy Taylor has described the band as being similar to the effects of inhaling the popular legal high. “So you sniff it, it lasts for 30 seconds and then you have a headache”. What might sound like a negative is, in fact, the biggest positive for the band. All of their tracks are short and sweet with enough noise to leave you begging for the next hit.
After a raucous support set from fellow Aussies Cable Ties, Amyl and the Sniffers finally graced the stage of the Edinburgh Corn Exchange, now known as the O2 Academy Edinburgh, to a reception so loud, you’d have mistaken the crowd for one 10 times the size the famous venue can hold. Entering the stage to Shania Twain’s legendary hit “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!” perfectly set the mood for what was to come next. Working themselves through a set of banger after banger, there was next to no downtime in a night that flew by in what felt like mere minutes. They had attracted a refreshingly diverse crowd, equal parts young and old, proving there is no age limit to a mosh pit.
Front woman Amy Taylor commands the stage in a way many others could only ever dream of. With unparalleled swagger and seemingly endless stamina, which was only matched by the liveliness of the crowd. Taylor demands attention with every movement, and every word. She took the time to raise an important issue midway through the show. The band's backdrop for the evening was a massive mural, painted by Indigenous Australian artist Aretha Brown. The band used this to make the crowd aware that Australia was the only country in The Commonwealth who had not yet signed a treaty with its Indigenous people. Taylor telling the crowd “they have more culture than we could ever have”, and although the crowd in attendance could not affect the upcoming vote on said treaty, everyone in the room agreed with the band.
Songs from both the bands' excellent albums, and older tracks from their early EPs, were all showcased here. The crowd didn’t always know all the words to the songs, but there was never a shortage of limbs, items of clothing, or the contents of many a pint glass in the air from beginning to end. Whether it was “Hertz” and “Security” from the band's 2021 album “Comfort To Me”, or “I Got You” and “Shake Ya” from their self-titled debut, the crowd remained entirely engrossed in the performance.
Closing the set was “Knifey”, a song with heartbreaking lyrics outlining the steps that women have to take to feel safe when walking alone at night. “If you’re going to get murdered, make sure you get murdered with perfect mascara”. Powerful words of defiance from Taylor, someone who isn’t afraid to speak up for what she believes in, and someone who should be listened to when she speaks. It’s a song that’s lyrics linger on your brain long after hearing it, and would definitely have left an impression on the crowd as they made their way to the exits.
Bundles of energy, outstanding musicianship and a truly captivating performance from Amy Taylor all contributed to what was an excellent show from a band that are only going to get better from here. The sky is truly the limit for Amyl and the Sniffers, and if they keep on the trajectory that they are on, they will only get bigger. It’s hard to imagine anyone who had been at the gig won’t be first in the queue for tickets the next time the Australian punk rockers return to Scotland.