Amy Taylor is the front woman of Australian punk band Amyl and the Sniffers. The band is based in Melbourne, Australia and consists of vocalist Amy Taylor, drummer Bryce Wilson, guitarist Dec Martens, and bassist Fergus Romer.
The band was formed by housemates Taylor, Wilson, and Martens and former band member Calum Newton (AKA Candy) in Balaclava, Melbourne. The four wrote, recorded, and released their first EP, Giddy Up, in a span of 12 hours. Calum left the band to pursue solo music and was replaced by Fergus Romer. Their sound has been compared to 1970s hard rock groups such as Iggy Pop and The Stooges and The Damned.[2] However, Taylor has cited a number of varying influences including Minor Threat, Ceremony, AC/DC, Sleaford Mods, Dolly Parton, and Cardi B.
The band was signed to Homeless Records in July 2017 and Big Attraction/Giddy Up was released on 12 January 2018. Big Attraction/Giddy Up reached #8 on the UK Top 40 (Vinyl Charts) in March 2018. The band was signed to Rough Trade Records later in 2018, and went into the studio to record their debut album with producer and former Add N to (X) drummer Ross Orton. The result was the self-titled Amyl and the Sniffers, which was released on 24 May 2019 and has received generally positive reviews including a 7.2 from Pitchfork and 4 out of 5 stars from NME and Allmusic. In light of the album's release, Happy Mag placed the band at no.9 on their list of "The 15 Australian female artists changing the game right now", praising front-woman Amy Taylor for being "one of hardest rocking people on the face of the planet."
At the ARIA Music Awards of 2019, Amyl and the Sniffers won the Best Rock Album category. In February 2020, the self-titled album was nominated for the Australian Music Prize of 2019.
