Amyl And The Sniffers aimed to "strip away the artifice and examine the body in an open, conversational way."
Amyl And The Sniffers (Credit: John Angus Stewart)
Amyl And The Sniffers have released their final single ahead of the release of their forthcoming album, Cartoon Darkness, but its music video is one you can’t watch at work.
The track, Jerkin’, is perhaps one of the band’s cheekiest songs, with the opening line: “You’re a dumb c*nt/ You’re an a**ehole,” and the music video is a celebration of our bodies. The X-rated music video was directed by John Angus Stewart (PHC Films), the band's longtime collaborator.
Fans can watch the uncensored version of the video on Amyl And The Sniffers’ website (for viewers over 18 only), while a censored video can be watched below.
Amy Taylor, the lead singer of the Melbourne punks, said of the inspiration behind the song: “It’s good to express your anger when someone’s been pissing you off, and it’s good to have humour in life, especially as a woman, when you’re meant to just passively say 'everything’s good' to keep everyone else comfortable.”
Adding that the “best part” of Jerkin’ is that its terminology can apply to anyone, she continued, “The best part about this song is that a squirter can be anybody's genitals. I wanted to write a song to big up ‘the self’ while putting down the ‘other’ because sometimes, even if it's just for a small window, that’s the best way to laugh something off and empower yourself. World's pissing me off and breaking my heart more than ever right now, might as well poke it back. It's pointless, but it's cathartic.”
In a statement advocating for body positivity and putting an end to prudish ideals, Stewart said:
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The level of offence that a vagina or penis can generate is absolutely bizarre. Once, Amy said to me, ‘If the world wasn’t so fucked up, I’d never wear clothes.’ It’s the context we stamp onto our sex organs that makes them innately ‘offensive.’ This is why we wanted to strip away the artifice and examine the body in an open, conversational way.
We approached the project as if it were a performance in itself. From concept to crewing to casting, we (the production) let the project evolve in the most natural way possible, allowing our subjects to dictate their level of input based on their comfort on the day. We were learning what it was as we were making it, which is basically the opposite approach I’m used to. But because this idea was driven by people’s personalities, it felt wrong to do it any other way.
We just kept pulling things further and further back until we were left with just a white wall and the human body. I want to come out of everything I do with a different perspective. Just as one’s perspective changes with an Amyl song, I want to change in the same way. I think we all walked away from the shoot with an innate need to be less prudish and give less of a shit.
Amyl And The Sniffers’ new album, Cartoon Darkness, will be released this Friday (25 October) via Virgin Music Group. You can pre-order/pre-save the album here. Melbourne record store Soundmerch will host a listening party this Thursday so fans can hear the album early.
The listening party kicks off at 5 pm. Fans will get to hear the album in full and take in some extras, such as free Amyl And The Sniffers tattoos (provided on a first-come, first-serve basis), free drinks, and special giveaways, including signed test pressings of the new record.