The way Amyl have grown and matured over the last two records is on display here, as feisty punk evolves into muscular hard-rock.
It’s a Saturday night in town and it feels like Manchester is in one of those moods: there is a selection of gigs going on up and down the city this weekend, meaning the hostelries up and down Oxford Road are packed. Punters in band tees, leather jackets and DM boots are spilling out of the various boozers, clutching pints and inhaling rollies as they discuss the warrants of the support act and whether they should get down to watch or spend the time necking another pint or two. Gig season is truly in full swing, with the late autumn/early winter flurry of shows taking a grip on the city.
Each time that Amyl and The Sniffers return to Manchester, they take on bigger and bigger rooms as their cult following has grown to a massive hoard of punks. There is a real cross-section of the community on display tonight: old heads, massive mohawks, denim vests, queer punks, 6Music Dads, kids and anyone else you can think of. Amyl’s brand of punk is centred around inclusivity and the latest record, Cartoon Darkness is an inherently feminist piece built around liberation and bodily autonomy.
“If anyone falls down, pick ‘em up. Don’t touch anyone that doesn’t want to be touched,” Amy Taylor lays down the rules before a chord is struck, before a resounding “We fuckin’ hate Donald Trump.” There is rapturous applause as the band roars into ‘Doing In Me Head’, before a thunderous rendition of ‘Freaks To The Front’, which perfectly encapsulates the band’s attitude to non-conformity.
The show is made up almost entirely of cuts from the last two studio albums, Cartoon Darkness and Comfort To Me, two records that have established the band among fans as the piss-and-vinegar punk from their eponymous debut has been honed and refined into muscular, monolithic rock.
They sound simply gigantic, a band at the peak of their powers blasting through tune after tune: ‘Do It Do It’, ‘Knifey’, ‘Security’ and ‘Maggot’ are all highlights in the early set. There is barely a minute for the crowd to catch their breath between sub-three-minute cuts and just as the mosh pit subsides, Taylor and co launch you into the next riotous number.
Taylor herself is resplendent. Her bleach blonde barnet is in a state of constant movement thanks to fans set up at the front of the stage. Her har is always fluttering in the breeze, but the peroxide locks never move enough to become out of place: she is sporting a black tee with the bejewelled slogan: “THE BITCH LIVED”. Looking like an even punkier Debbie Harry, Taylor strides about the space, pointing at audience members, tiptoeing to the very lip of the stage and occasionally pulling out her signature muscle-flexing moves. Taylor is a pro, she knows exactly how to work her crowd and the added level of performance to the whole affair takes this iteration of the Amyl show to the next level.
‘Chewing Gum’ from the new record sounds like a different beast live, as does ‘Big Dreams’. ‘Me and The Girls’ is a massive moment, and there is a chorus of women singing and moshing which is an absolute delight: the moment perfectly embodies exactly what Taylor and the band set out to achieve with Cartoon Darkness.
‘U Should Not Be Doing That’ is massive, as is the best lyrical song of the year, ‘Jerkin’, and of course ‘Hertz’ which make up the final act of the 20-song main set. The band disappear briefly before a two-song encore, which blows the roof off the gaff. ‘Balaclava Lover Boogie’ is the oldest cut in the setlist, from 2018’s sensational Big Attraction & Giddy Up EP. ‘GFY’ is the closer, capping off a sensational evening. The way Amyl and The Sniffers have grown and matured over the last two records is on display here and there is no doubt they are one of the best live acts going right now.
featured image: Helen Millington
