Amyl & The Sniffers on their “compassionate” fans and plans to “hit a bullseye” at Ally Pally
Amyl & The Sniffers caught up with NME backstage at Reading 2025, where the Aussie punks told us about solidarity with their fans, their upcoming 10th anniversary, and plans to “hit a bullseye” at their London Alexandra Palace show. Watch our video interview above.
Just before they smashed the main stage for their R&L debut, guitarist Declan Mehrtens and drummer Bryce Wilson spoke to us about band life and getting ever bigger – especially of the back of their acclaimed 2024 album ‘Cartoon Darkness’. As chat turned to life on the road, we asked if their tour buses get a little more decadent and bougie with each album.
“I can’t remember the last album,” replied Mehrtens. “We have a different one every time, but on the last tour I found out that you could get a graphic attached to the bus: a band logo or something. We haven’t done it yet.
“We don’t want everyone to know that it’s Amyl & The Sniffers’ bus, so maybe we could get like Oasis or something like that? Mastodon?”
Their R&L sets marked the end of a “long” summer, including a stop at Glastonbury and supporting Fontaines D.C. at Finsbury Park. The latter saw Amyl alongside the likes of Kneecap and Cardinals in speaking up against ongoing atrocities in Palestine. Given ongoing struggles and debates around artists’ freedom of expression – with the BBC cutting Hozier’s powerful speech from their R&L broadcast while Victorious pulled the plug on The Mary Wallopers for waving a flag – we asked Amyl if they’d ever been met with any resistance and censorship.
“It’s been good for us,” replied Mehrtens. “We’re really lucky that our fans are all very compassionate people. That’s what I find. We all care about everything that’s going on in the world. Jesus it’s a lot, so I’m not going to list it all. We’ll see. We go to Berlin in two days, so we’ll see.
“Our managers say that when we have our visa applications pending, but we got them approved!”
Never afraid to speak their mind and let their truth be heard, Amyl & The Sniffers used their main stage Reading & Leeds set to speak up for just causes. “I want to say fuck J.K. Rowling,” began frontwoman Amy Taylor, speaking of the Harry Potter author’s controversial views against the trans community, “and I want to say my heart is with the people in Palestine.”
She continued: “It takes nothing to think about that kind of thing and talk about that kind of thing, and any kind of action is some kind of action. What else can I say? I guess fuck Trump, haha! That’s it, and I’ll leave it at that.”
The next time the band will be on these shores will be for their biggest UK headline show to date at London’s iconic Alexandra Palace in October. Mehrtens confessed to sensing “pressure”, but said he wasn’t letting it phase them.
“When it’s the biggest one ever, we don’t really know what to do,” he admitted. “Earlier this year we did Sidney Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne to 9,000 people. That was the thing. ‘Do you wanna do anything special?’ I dunno. Get a big LED screen and we could play the darts. None of us have been to a gig at Ally Pally before. We’ve played Jools Holland there, but we’ve only watched the darts there. We’re gonna hit a bullseye.
“We’re gonna give everyone a dart and they can throw it whenever they want during the show… at us.”
Looking ahead to 2026, the guitarist said the band would be “hibernating, doing new album stuff” before celebrating their 10th anniversary in February. Asked hat would an Amyl & The Sniffers birthday party would look like, he replied: “Cake (we love cake) and partying, a kick ons, maybe a bit of drama. Someone will kiss someone they’re not meant to. I might kiss Bryce, we’ll see.”
Once the chat was over, the two bandmates told us that they’d be following their set by watching headliner Travis Scott. Would they be getting involved in the pit?
“I haven’t pitted in seven years,” laughed Mehrtens. “I’d pit a bloody olive. You won’t see me in a moshpit.”
‘Cartoon Darkness’ by Amyl & The Sniffers it out now. The band have shows in Berlin and New Zealand before an October North American tour and their headline show at Alexandra Palace on Saturday October 25. Visit here for tickets and more information.
Check back at NME here for all the latest news, reviews, interviews, photos and more Reading & Leeds 2025.
The post Amyl & The Sniffers on their “compassionate” fans and plans to “hit a bullseye” at Ally Pally appeared first on NME.
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