Amyl and the Sniffers are set to make history tonight, ripping through their biggest Sydney headline show yet. It’s a far cry from the sweat-soaked chaos of 2019 when I first caught them at the Paddo RSL. Back then, it was just 150 diehards packed into a suburban hall, bracing for impact as Amy Taylor and co. unleashed their brand of pub-punk fury. Fast-forward six years, and the Melbourne quartet is gearing up for a Coachella debut and riding high on a Brit Award nomination for International Group of the Year. Not bad for a band who built their reputation on raw energy and relentless grit.
They’re currently tearing up stages across the country in support of Cartoon Darkness, their blistering new album dropped in October 2024. Teaming up with legendary producer Nick Launay—whose CV boasts collaborations with Nick Cave and other icons—the band has leaned harder into their jagged, hard-hitting sound without losing an ounce of their snarling charm. Tonight’s show is a testament to how far they’ve come, but if Amyl and the Sniffers have taught us anything, it’s that they’re just getting started.
The first time I saw Miss Kaninna was at Laneway Festival, and she didn’t just perform—she astounded. Fast-forward to now, and her meteoric rise shows no signs of slowing. Her 2023 breakout anthem, ‘Blak Britney,’ still hits like a lightning bolt—bold, unapologetic, and dripping with star power. Potent and fearless, Miss Kaninna commands the stage tonight with the same electrifying confidence that’s become her trademark.
The buzz around Bob Vylan has been deafening—and for good reason. The London-based duo, known for their incendiary blend of grime, punk rock, and hip-hop, deliver a blistering set that hits like a Molotov cocktail. Unapologetically raw and brimming with energy, their performance is the perfect chaos-fueled appetiser for Amyl and the Sniffers.
When Amyl and the Sniffers storm the stage to the strains of “Destination Unknown,” the energy detonates. The crowd sees their faces projected on a screen behind the band, a mirror of collective frenzy, and they lose it—utterly. Amy Taylor, dressed in white shorts and a black bustier decked out with brightly colored matchbox cars, is kinetic chaos incarnate. She moves like a human pinball, ricocheting from one side of the stage to the other, an unstoppable Duracell bunny with punk grit and feral charisma.
Behind her, Bryce Wilson, Declan Mehrtens, and Gus Romer are a force in their own right—a tight, unwavering unit. At moments, the boys gather at the drum riser like conspirators, locked in their own rhythmical world, while Amy commandeers the stage with the urgency of a freight train hurtling toward the next big thing.
There’s a palpable closeness among them, an unspoken unity forged in relentless touring and the sweaty intimacy of dive bars. Now, with Cartoon Darkness cementing their sound and major gigs like Coachella looming on the horizon, their trajectory is unstoppable. Destination Unknown? Hardly. These punks are heading straight to the top.
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