Amyl and The Sniffers — Comfort To Me — Album Review
Alternative | Punk | Rock
Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Music
The year of 2019 saw the Melbourne punk four-piece Amyl and The Sniffers release their self-titled debut album, and the lead up to said album was how I managed to discover them.
This debut album turned out to actually be one of my favourite projects of that year (my tenth favourite album of 2019, to be exact). The main reason behind this, was really Amyl and The Sniffers themselves, along with their aesthetic.
Up until that debut effort, I had rarely to never heard a punk rock sound that remains as true to the roots of punk music. The one that this band brought to the table, was in equal parts authentic and exhilarating. By keeping the nostalgic punk rock musicality, and throwing away all of the outdated lyrical focuses, to replace them with more modern and connective subjects, meant that the band’s debut succeeded in bringing a believed to be dead sound, and had revived it somewhat in my mind.
After making such a splash with their debut, I was more than excited to see what Amyl and The Sniffers would do next. It turns out, that 2021 would be the year that fans would be able to find out. Enter the band’s sophomore studio album, Comfort To Me.
Judging from the handful of teaser tracks we had received from the album, such as “Guided by Angels” and “Security”, the elements of Amyl and The Sniffers’ sound would likely remain true to what we had heard on the debut album. After all, if it ain’t broke, it shouldn’t be fixed. However, it would be unfair to not mention that their sound seems to have a few slight tweaks here and there, which result in a more refined and melodically punchy atmosphere overall.
and much like how the narrative focus of the debut album revolved somewhat around the effects of falling in love (and all of the pretty cute stuff you wouldn’t normally expect to be paired with a gritty punk sound), Comfort To Me homes in on this even more. As a result, this album manages to be an insanely fun listen. With a premise that’s easy to understand, a sound that fans are familiar with, and a little dash of something new, Comfort To Me manages to stand as an insanely fun listen.
What also contributes to this albums enjoyability, would be the consistently dynamic energy that the album brings almost end to end. For that reason, the one slow-paced track on this album, titled “Knifey”, felt a little bit more obligatory than I would’ve liked, which is a shame, when you consider the grip of its lyrics.
A narrative that essentially sees a power struggle between lusting for another, and respecting yourself, paired with all of the amazing musical elements, means that Amyl and The Sniffers hit it out of the park once more with Comfort To Me. Some might argue that they may have liked this album to deviate slightly more from its predecessor. However, I feel that for a sophomore album this can be more than excusable. Besides, any uncertainty simply gets completely swamped by the explosive and fun sound that this awesome record has to offer.
Favourite Tracks: Choices | Hertz | No More Tears
Least Favourite Track: Knifey
Amyl and The Sniffers | Rough Trade
Enjoyment: 9/10 | Memorability: 8/10 | Atmosphere: 8/10
Uniqueness: 7/10 | Satisfaction: 8/10 | Narrative: 8/10
