She leads Amyl and the Sniffers, one of the biggest Australian bands of the past decade, which comes with a lot of important responsibilities for Amy Taylor.
In the Melbourne punk-rock band’s new Rolling Stone AU/NZ cover story, Taylor pondered her influence on fans, particularly the band’s female fans.
“I definitely see the influence on people, which is cool,” she told Print Editor James Jennings. “I think if I could be a role model in any way, it would be that I’m imperfect rather than representing this unattainable goal.
“With women especially, you have to be so many different things, perfectly — just the right amount of every ingredient. You don’t have to be the squeakiest clean version of yourself to be successful in what you do.”
When asked if she and her band have experienced Australia’s infamous Tall Poppy Syndrome, Taylor had a considered response.
“In theory, people want a successful woman — someone who’s complicated and doing well,” she said. “But a lot of the time when that actually happens in practice, they’re like, ‘Actually, fuck that. You gotta be more like this, and more like that.’ But then in 50 years when I’m dead and gone or whatever the fuck, they’re like, ‘That’s dope.’ But I feel like people are always a bit late to respect stuff.”
Taylor continued: “With this new album there’s been a big acceptance of what we are and what we do. Whereas with the last two albums, I think it was still teetering where people were like, ‘Oh you shouldn’t be doing that stuff, and having ‘fuck’ in your lyrics.’ You know? Telling us what we should and shouldn’t do.”
Elsewhere in their in-depth cover story, Taylor revealed her desire to go country on a future album.
“We’ve had three really successful punk and rock albums, but I’d love to make an Aussie country album,” she insisted. “Chad Morgan, Slim Dusty, that kind of stuff. You know, just shake shit up. If you don’t think about it and talk about it, again, we would just end up touring until we drop dead, basically.”
Amyl and the Sniffers grace the cover of our March-May issue, which hit newsstands in Australia and New Zealand earlier this month.
In their cover story, Taylor and bandmates Bryce Wilson, Declan Mehrtens, and Gus Romer shared an under-the-bonnet exploration of their careers and the special glue that binds them. The foursome also posed for an exclusive shoot with Michelle Pitiris, the ARIA Award-winning music and fashion photographer.
Check out exclusive behind the scenes footage of the band’s instantly-iconic cover shoot above.
Alongside Dom Dolla and Thelma Plum, Amyl and the Sniffers lead the shortlist for the 2025 Rolling Stone Australia Awards, racking up multiple nominations across key categories. The band will compete for Best LP/EP (Cartoon Darkness), Best Single (“U Should Not Be Doing That”), Best Live Act, and the prestigious Rolling Stone Global Award.
The March-May 2025 issue of Rolling Stone AU/NZ is on newsstands now.
Whether you’re a fan of music, you’re a supporter of the local music scene, or you enjoy the thrill of print and longform journalism, then Rolling Stone AU/NZ is exactly what you need. Click the link here for more information regarding a magazine subscription.
