Amyl and the Sniffers in Trieste

About the artist

Amyl and the Sniffers are an Australian pub rock and punk band from Melbourne, formed in early 2016 by vocalist Amy Taylor, drummer Bryce Wilson, and guitarist Declan Mehrtens in their shared house. The band was formed, wrote a handful of songs, and released their debut EP Giddy Up – all within twelve hours. Bassist Gus Romer joined shortly after, completing the four-piece. The name is Australian slang for amyl nitrite – better known as poppers. As Amy Taylor has put it: “You sniff it, it lasts for 30 seconds, and then you have a headache – and that’s what we’re like!” After earning buzz through Australia’s indie circuits and rapidly building a reputation for ferocious live shows, they hit the studio with producer Ross Orton and released their self-titled debut album in May 2019. The record won the ARIA Award for Best Rock Album and put them on the international map. Their second album, Comfort to Me, arrived in September 2021, recorded in Melbourne, and pushed the band further with a broader musical palette – from hardcore to near-country moments – without losing the raw energy. In 2022 they opened for Weezer, Fall Out Boy, and Green Day on the European Hella Mega Tour, and in 2023 they toured with Smashing Pumpkins and Jane’s Addiction. Then came third album Cartoon Darkness, released on 25 October 2024 – a more swaggering, bluesy, and self-assured record that debuted at #2 on the Australian ARIA chart. The album swept the 2025 ARIA Awards with four wins, including Album of the Year, Best Rock Album, and Best Group. The single “U Should Not Be Doing That” earned a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Performance at the 2026 ceremony – the band’s very first Grammy nod. In late 2025 they supported AC/DC on the Australian leg of the Power Up Tour, and 2026 brings a North American headline tour including a debut at the legendary Red Rocks. Their style is raw, unpolished, and electric – a blend of ‘70s punk, pub rock, garage rock, and at times a dusty, almost “Australiana” blues feel. Amy Taylor’s vocal presence is the band’s beating heart: frenetic, funny, confrontational, and genuinely charismatic. Live, Amyl and the Sniffers are a force of nature – a band that started playing to handfuls of people at underground Melbourne venues and now fills arenas around the world, without having compromised a single beat.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​