Simone Ubaldi & Andrew Parisi On The Rise And Rise Of Amyl And The Sniffers

As Simone Ubaldi and Andrew Parisi of Sundowner Artists get set to discuss at BIGSOUND the rise and rise of Amyl And The Sniffers, the Melbourne band is about to shift another gear in the international market.

Their third album, Cartoon Darkness, will be released globally on October 25 through Virgin Music Group in Australia and the US and Rough Trade for the rest of the world.

It was produced by Nick Launay (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and recorded at Foo Fighters’ Studio 606 in Los Angeles in early 2024.

Things have been steadily building these past years for Amy Taylor (vocals), Gus Romer (bass), Bryce Wilson (drums), and Declan Martens (guitar).

Their last album, Comfort To Me, reached #2 on the ARIA chart, #2 on the UK Albums Chart and #2 on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart in the US. It led to appearances at Primavera, Glastonbury, Roskilde and Rock En Seine, and multiple tours across the US, Europe, UK, Mexico, Japan and India.

But that was three years ago. “Certainly leading into this new album cycle, we knew we needed to give people a second to gear up again around the concept of Sniffers recorded music,” Ubaldi says.

Two singles set up the album. U Should Not Be Doing That in May rebooted streaming numbers again, rising with the current Chewing Gum. Both generated much press and radio interest. An additional track, Facts, was released as a standalone single.

U Should Not Be Doing That and Chewing Gum stepped up as strong-arm radio-friendly gems. They stormed into BBC1 and BBC6 playlists, with a combined listenership of 11 million. On influencer Jack Saunders' show, each topped the Hottest Record In The World feature.

On August 21, Taylor and Martens shared with UK listeners stories and tracks from Melbourne's punk scene from which they emerged.

Paying Off

The band’s relentless touring these past years is paying off. In the US, there is widespread support from college networks and specialty radio, which are shows on commercial radio that play more adventurous music.

“There’s quite a bit of opportunity for growth on alternate, speciality and Triple A ("adult album alternative") obviously,” according to Ubaldi.

Ubaldi and Parisi note that Amyl And The Sniffers get more radio support abroad than in their home market. Community radio has been on board since the start, but they had problems slotting into triple j until recently.

Behind the album is an 18-month world tour. Before details of the album were announced, 90% of tickets had already been sold.

Currently, the band plays to 3,000-seat clubs in Australia and the US and between 1,500 and 3,000-sized clubs throughout Europe. Post-album, they’re expected to move up to larger venues.

“In the US, there’s a much broader tour in the first quarter of 2025 than we have previously. Then we’re moving to some pretty big festival plays in the summer of 2025.”

• Billy Corgan On Amyl And The Sniffers' Amy Taylor: 'This Is A True Rockstar'

The Sniffers are now on the client list of Nasty Little Man, the publicity firm in the US for Foo Fighters, Paul McCartney and Metallica. They’ve also outsourced their social media presence to a social media management firm.

On their first visits abroad, the audience was mostly ‘70s punk nostalgists. These days, there are 18-year-old females up front sporting Amy haircuts. At the back are those in their ‘60s and ‘70s, inspired by rock influences.

One interesting element is guys singing along to every line of Knifey, Taylor’s protest anthem about not feeling safe on the streets:

All I ever wanted was to walk by the park

All I ever wanted was to walk by the river, see the stars

Please stop fucking me up

Out comes the night; out comes my knifey

This is how I get home nicely

I turn around and backtrack

Because I ain't that tough

But you still fuck me up

Midnight Slot

Andrew Parisi and Simone Ubaldi are directors of Sundowner Artists. The company also reps Grace Cummings and Girl And Girl, as well as Brisbane band Nice Biscuit and its singer Grace Cuell’s side project, Baby Cool.

Parisi managed several artists in the ‘90s, was the Managing Editor of Beat and venue booker of HiFi, was the General Manager of a film distribution company, and managed celebrity crim Chopper Read before re-launching The Croxton Bandroom in 2015.

Before managing artists, Ubaldi was a print and radio journalist, a film buyer and a ghostwriter. Her books include a biography of Bon Scott and the final book ghostwritten for Chopper.

They came across Amyl And The Sniffers in February 2017. A local punk promoter had booked them in the midnight slot at the front bar of their Croxton Bar. Neither had heard of the band, but the queue weaved down the street.

Parisi recalls: “They had this magic looseness where it could all fall apart at any time; Amy had this undeniable charisma on stage. It was this combination. For me, I really liked them as people; [they were] a really good bunch of hard-working kids.”

Two days later, he ran into them at the local burger joint, and they exchanged details. “I was starting to look for managers and what else for them because they just seemed like fresh-faced kids, and I didn’t want them rolled by anyone or get them into any contractual problem with anyone.”

They’d catch up every few weeks. After six months, they asked him to take over their management. “I didn’t want to go back into management, but I really liked them as people.”

The next year, Ubaldi accompanied the band to Moscow and the Great Escape in England, where executives from around the world were looking for the next big thing(s).

A review from that appearance reported: “They are loud, brash, full of aggression, fast, noisy, have attitude and certainly know how to entertain and get their audience right behind them.”

The buzz began, and to cope with the workload, Parisi brought in Ubaldi as co-manager. She states, “Amy, from the early days, was a magical unicorn. It was so exciting to see her perform.

“They’re fun to be part of. They’re very authentic; that’s the word we’d use to describe them. That applies to them now as they play the stages of main festivals around the world as they were at the Croxton Bar.

“People are terrified of Amy onstage, but she is the friendliest and warmest.  Her performance is physical, it’s spiritual, it’s creative, it’s about communicating with the audience. She gives everything; she comes on stage looking like a real wild animal. She gives every part of her soul when she’s onstage.”

Amyl And The Sniffers first played BIGSOUND in 2017. In 2024, Amy Taylor will be a keynote speaker, delivering "U Should Not Be Doing That" on Wednesday, September 4, between 1:30 PM and 2:15 PM.

Sundowner Artists discuss Sniffing Out Gold: Taking Amyl To The World on Thursday, September 5 at 9.45 am at Judith Wright Arts Centre – Theatre Rehearsal Space.

For more information on Amy Taylor’s and Sundowner Artist’s appearances at BIGSOUND, head to the event website.