It’s been a massive year for Amyl and The Sniffers, from huge overseas touring success (including a recent gig to an audience of 10,000 at London’s Alexandra Palace) to their, what will now be legendary, cancelled Fed Square gig. And tonight marks another chapter as the powerhouse punk outfit take home four wins at the 2025 ARIA Awards for ‘Album Of The Year’, ‘Best Cover Art’, ‘Best Rock Album’, and ‘Best Group’, for their highly-acclaimed album, Cartoon Darkness. The band were up for a total of six nominations including ‘Best Video’ and ‘Best Australian Live Act’.
The win follows a huge week kicking off with their support slot for AC/DC’s PWR UP 2025 Tour, a GRAMMY-Award Nomination for ‘Best Rock Performance’ and 2025 Double J Australian Artist of the Year. That’s before we even talk about that Fed Square gig.
A free, all-ages show at Melbourne’s Federation Square was due to kick off on Friday 14 November, where 10,000 locals had gathered. Unfortunately, citing safety concerns, organisers cancelled the event just minutes before Amyl and The Sniffers were to take the stage. Instead of a bitter ending, the band put a total of $35,000 behind the bar at seven local grassroots music venues. “Have a drink on us,” declared front-woman Amy Taylor.
Cartoon Darkness has seen a sweep of recognition, debuting at #2 on the ARIA Chart, nominated last year at the 2024 J Awards for Australian Album of The Year, 2024 Australian Music Prize, Winner of Best LP/EP, Best Live Act, at the Rolling Stone Awards 2025, was also hailed triple j’s Feature Album alongside recognition across community radio.
Speaking on the album Amy Taylor shared:“Cartoon Darkness is driving headfirst into the unknown, into this looming sketch of the future that feels terrible, but doesn’t even exist yet. A childlike darkness. I don’t want to meet the devil half-way and mourn what we have right now. The future is cartoon, the prescription is dark, but it’s novelty. It’s just a joke. It’s fun.”
The band has been busy touring non-stop, playing Sidney Myer Music Bowl, and reaching global stages across US/UK/EU, as well as opening for acts such as Turnstile, Fontaines D.C & Kneecap @ Finsbury Park, Foo Fighters, and gracing the stage at international festivals Coachella, Glastonbury, Leeds & Reading Festival, and more.
You can stream Cartoon Darkness here.
And find out more about Amyl and the Sniffers here.