‘Big Dreams’: Amyl and the Sniffers’ most hopelessly romantic song
Amyl and the Sniffers are one of the most exciting bands on the planet right now. There is something about them that is difficult to put into words, as they represent both a rage and unity that is hard to come by. A lot of punk music feels forced, but what they put out comes across as incredibly natural and honest, and it just so happens to be a lot of fun as well.
One of the most dominating factors that take over Amyl and the Sniffers’ sound is rage. Their most recent album, Cartoon Darkness, comes packed and vacuum sealed with enough anger for you to pack into a punch and smash whatever is pissing you off with. The instrumentation backs up this anger beautifully, and the band manages to cement itself as one of the best to listen to when looking for an uncompromising release.
One of the most stand-out songs on this album when it comes to releasing anger is the opener, ‘Jerkin’, which doesn’t hold back in making their disdain towards an unnamed figure clear. “You’re a dumb cunt, you’re an asshole, every time you talk, you mumble, grumble, need to wipe your mouth after you speak cos it’s an asshole, bum hole, dumb cunt,” screams Amy Taylor.
When Far Out spoke to Taylor and her bandmates about their music, she revealed that these periods of anger aren’t directed at anyone in particular and more the faceless abyss of the internet. There is a hopelessness enveloped in the rage, as the problem is too big to stick a name on, yet it still needs to be acknowledged.
This theme of hopelessness can be found in their other music as well, especially on the track ‘Big Dreams’, which takes the faceless narrative of ‘Jerkin’ but directs it towards hope rather than anger. It’s one of the most romantic tracks that the band has ever written, as it speaks to an internal feeling present in all of us, one that dreams of something bigger and better but doesn’t know how it looks, what it is, or where it is.
The instrumentation is separate from the upbeat punk sound that the band have become so accustomed to, as they opt for plucking guitar, something more serene and slow. “We wanted to push ourselves; we knew that,” said Amy Taylor. This new approach was always intentional, and the theme of the song followed shortly afterwards. “It was mainly just seeing where people wanted to go and then forming it after that […] Declan brought in some of the softer guitar riffs, we encouraged everyone to play something different, play something new.”
There is a hopeless romanticism embedded within this song. It takes the theory that the grass is always greener somewhere else and puts it to music. It captures our inner desire for a better life, a world where releases of anger such as those on ‘Jerkin’ aren’t necessary; however, it doesn’t give us directions on how to get there because the band simply don’t know. Instead, they repeat the words, “Get out of here,” while riding motorcycles into the difference. It’s beautiful and equally sad as the band takes our desire to live a better life and gives us a soundtrack that accompanies our wavering travels.
