Amyl and The Sniffers drop third album Cartoon Darkness, announce Australia tour
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25.10.2024

Amyl and The Sniffers drop third album Cartoon Darkness, announce Australia tour

Amyl and the sniffers
Words by Bryget Chrisfield

Australia's favourite pub rock band is back with a brand new album that they'll be touring across the country in early 2025.

Amyl and The Sniffers’ long-awaited third album is finally here, and with it, good news: the band has planned an eight-date tour across their home country scheduled for January 2025.

On tour, they’ll be joined by Bob Vylan and Miss Kaninna, with their New Zealand dates supported by C.O.F.F.I.N.

Amyl and The Sniffers Australia Tour

  • 16 Jan – Hindley Music Hall, Adelaide (AA)
  • 17 Jan – Port Beach Beergarden, Perth
  • 24 Jan – Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne (AA)
  • 25 Jan – Horden Pavillion, Sydney (AA)
  • 27 Jan – Waves, Wollongong
  • 30 Jan – The Station, Sunshine Coast
  • 31 Jan – Tivoli, Brisbane (AA)
  • 7 Feb – Party In The Paddock, Tasmnia
  • 14 Feb – Meow Nui, Wellington
  • 15 Feb – Powerstation, Auckland
  • 16 Feb – Powerstation, Auckland

Cartoon Darkness

We’ve had the Cartoon Darkness lead single, U Should Not Be Doing That – which flaunts this band’s international success, raising middle fingers to jealous haters – on high rotation since its release: “I was in Tokyo/ Showing off my crack/ And you told me that I should not be doing that…” – the lyrics are a crack-up! Amy Taylor has described U Should Not Be Doing That as “a comedic way of rubbing the dog’s nose in its own dog piss after it wee’d on your favourite rug or something.” 

Comin’ in hot with the swear-soaked opener Jerkin’ (first line: “You’re a dumb cunt”) is badass. “You are fucking spiders/ I am drinking riders…” – Amy’s lyrics rival hip-hop braggadocio, constantly bringing the LOLs.

“Eh there’s too many snags at the party” (always has been), so it’s high time we “Support the girls in the industry” – Amen, Amy! Her lyrical wizardry also never shies away from feminist real-talk. 

She’s flashing her tits in the album cover pic (with pixelated, censored nips for the sake of ‘decency’, which we’re pretty sure would’ve made Amy eye-roll at the very least). Amy’s such a proud member of the “scantily-clad lady” club that she even wrote a song about it: Tiny Bikini, which she delivers in cutesy, cartoonish Betty Boop style.  

Amy explores different vocal approaches and sings more tunefully than she’s done on previous Amyl And The Sniffers releases here (see: Big Dreams, which is probably as close to a ballad as they’ll go). Throughout Me And The Girls’ choruses, Amy’s playground-taunt vocals are everything. The melody-stacked Bailing On Me is resplendent with a whistling refrain.      

The sinister bass, walloping drums and insistent, chunky riffs we’ve come to expect from The Sniffers remain, but they’ve obviously honed their chops from all that relentless gigging. They’re comfortable being “a vessel for [Amy’s] message”, as bassist Gus Romer said during a recent interview. Throughout Do It Do It, Bryce Wilson’s drumming is off the Richter! 

Life can be tough sometimes, sure, but the Nick Launay-produced Cartoon Darkness reminds us to prioritise fun while we’re here. It doesn’t get any more authentic than these c-bomb-slinging legends. Amyl And The Sniffers are certainly Going Somewhere and deservedly so. 

Lyrical “cunt” count: just 5 (surprising, right?), plus 2x “asshole”s, 1 “bum hole”, 1 “dick hole” and 6 “squirter”s – the latter bleeped out for radioplay. 

Tickets to see Amyl and The Sniffers on their Cartoon Darkness tour go on sale on November 1, with a pre-sale opening on October 30. Grab yours here