Photo by Jamie Wdziekonski
From bushfires to a pandemic, protected and hiding behind masks, but more visible than ever through the comforts of creativity, Amyl and The Sniffers bring hope and a new light to life with their second full length release, Comfort To Me. Recorded in less than 2 weeks while quarantining during the COVID-19 lockdown, vocalist Amy Taylor, guitarist Dec Martens, bassist Gus Romer and drummer Bryce Wilson triumphantly reestablished and concocted a sound that’s truly their own: fast, fun, and honest.
“Most of the time in 2020, I felt hopeless. I felt pretty bad about the world and a lot of things,” shares Amy Taylor. “I guess I didn’t want to put my head down or not trust the future. I sort of had to restrain my brain. That was sort of my coping mechanism,” Taylor says. “I feel more disciplined now, because when it all happened I was pretty much smoking ciggies and doing dumb shit, but then I was working out heaps and eating heaps of vegetables and being hydrated constantly.” Truly a consciousness a lot of artists sink into when the possibilities of touring and work kept fading away. While in Melbourne, the air conditions pushed Taylor to get an asthma pump, “I was getting really bad coughs and I don’t even have asthma. That was a really weird time in itself.”
It almost seems that all these experiences transformed consciously into the energy, so to speak, that characterizes Comfort To Me, just like in the first single “Guided by Angels” where Taylor cathartically announces her angels are her energy, and energy her “currency”:
Guided by angels
But they’re not heavenly
They’re on my body
And they guide me
Heavenly
The angels guide me heavenly heavenly
Energy
Good energy and bad energy
I’ve got plenty of energy
It’s my currency
I spend protect my energy currency
And when we talk about currency, we can quickly shift to Taylor’s take on capitalism and consumerism, and also the impact of being a female singer fronting a punk band. Relying on this energy to command a stage, and even a room, Taylor shares how often she is the only female in the room and “sometimes I feel scared and I act wildly because of that.” These experiences have made her a commanding force as a performer. She’s in your face, not missing a beat, energized by a crowd, her bandmates and the possibility of the night. “We called the album Comfort To Me from the lyrics of “Capital” and it says,
Comfort to me, what does that even mean
What reasons do we persevere
Existing for the sake of existing
Meaning disappears
“Fucking talking about existentialism, capitalism, consumerism — which as a band you cannot hide from — but also, why do we do what we do? Why does anyone do what we do? They just do it,” reflects Taylor. “But also the idea that “comfort to me” is a punk show, a sweaty gig, going for a run, and all those sorts of things.” Living currently still under lockdown conditions in Melbourne, Taylor acknowledges the urge of life even when, “I still feel like, well, we’re all going to die in 20 years, so fuck it!” A feeling that she captures perfectly in “Capital” with the line, “I love feeling drunk on the illusion of meaning.”
In how to empower others in their quest of identity, Amy says “I think because naturally my experiences have been different, because my experiences are different from the ones of a male, I have a different perspective. It’s different for female identified people, for non-binary people as well. The world is slightly harder for us, even more intensely harder. I’ve had immensely positive things happen to me because I am a female, but I’ve also been treated very poorly.” For her, as a female identified artist, the best she can do to empower others is to be the best she can be, amidst the lines of honesty and realness. “If I can lead by example, and be the best version of myself that would make me very happy and hopefully that would encourage people to push themselves, and stand up for themselves and know they can do better. That they don’t have to hide away parts of their expression of gender. I just want to be like that and I want people to know they can be like that, in their own way,” expresses Taylor.
Taylor doesn’t need permission, to be angry, to be energized, to show herself on stage, alongside Dec, Gus, and Bryce. Amyl and The Sniffers are more locked in than ever. Recording, felt “pretty chill” according to Taylor and it shows. Comfort to Me, is an explosive resolution, the crew is present, and together, real and ready and with no expectations of the future or how the album resonates. “I just want it to be contagious. Life is good. I want it to be like life is good ‘cause life is bad,” laughs Taylor. “You got to be like, Life is fucking fuck, and you can do whatever you want!” Hear here, Amy. Words of comfort and to comfort, for sure.
