Amyl and The Sniffers "Chewing Gum" is sticky, but short on flavor
Pressure is mounting in the lead up to Amyl and The Sniffers’ return with expectations for their forthcoming LP becoming comically high. The band’s world-dominating 2021 breakthrough Comfort To Me established a baseline so stratospheric it may prove impossible to summit, but that wont stop Melbourne’s irascible finest from trying, as tenacity and verve are in their very DNA.
While the band has explored slower compositions in the past, the groove-forward chug of “Chewing Gum” still feels like uncharted territory. Pummeling rhythms are delivered with a measured sense of restraint, allowing plenty of space for guitars that flash with the brilliance of cold steel and flirt with dangerous psychedelia but spend the majority of the track menacingly skulking the shadows. Taylor’s workmanlike prose is thematically adjacent to previous single “U Should Not Be Doing That,” wrestling with mega-stardom and reflecting proudly on how far she’s come but missing the 100 proof bravado and devil-may-care attitude.
The track maintains a surprisingly even keel throughout, and lacks the feral quality that permeates Amyl and The Sniffers’ recorded materials and electrifies the band’s live sets. One would expect Taylor and the boys to be thumping their chests, bursting with pride at their accomplishments and shouting from the rafters but instead “Chewing Gum” largely feels like a 60 Minutes interview delivered from the beige comfort of a living room chair. The back side of the track opens up, unleashing big time riffs and tightened up lyrics augmented with shout-along gang vocals that are guaranteed to get the mosh boiling, but the meandering path to get there is a curious way to celebrate one’s bona fides.
No stranger to collaborating with big names for their video exploits, Amyl and The Sniffers once again tapped fellow Aussie John Angus Stewart (King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard) to direct “Chewing Gum,” with production from 1888 Productions who count Saweetie, Bad Bunny, John Legend, Spotify, and similar among their portfolio. The polish shows, even through the high-contrast and harshly lit frames there’s a real major-label look to the entire video. Aligning with the track itself, Taylor takes literal flight as the band hammers through the outro deep within in the cavernous walls of an empty warehouse for an epically big finish. In this moment the band actually feels free, liberated from the unbearable weight of massive expectations to soar beyond the rafters awash in the glory of rock n roll.
Cartoon Darkness is out October 25 on Rough Trade Records. Sream “Chewing Gum” on Spotify and follow Amyl and The Sniffers on Instagram.
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