Amy and The Sniffers have unveiled “Jerkin” as the last advance single from their new album, Cartoon Darkness, ahead of its release this Friday (October 25th). Accompanying the track is an NSFW music video that goes along with the song’s risqué lyrics.
The Australian pub-rockers are streaming the X-rated video on their website only, with a censored version posted on YouTube. Singer Amy Taylor says of the song, “It’s good to express your anger when someone’s been pissing you off and it’s good to have humor in life, especially as a woman, when you’re meant to just passively say ‘everything’s good’ to keep everyone else comfortable.”
She adds, “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.”
The uncensored music video is filled with full-frontal nudity. The clip’s director, John Angus Stewart, states, “The level of offense 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.”
He continues, “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.”
“Jerkin” follows previous Cartoon Darkness singles “Big Dream,” “Chewing Gum,” and “U Should Not Be Doing That,” the latter of which was named our Heavy Song of the Week upon its release.
Amyl and The Sniffers recently opened for Foo Fighters on a summer North American tour. They kick off a UK/European tour in early November, with tickets available here.
Fans can hear Cartoon Darkness (pre-order here) ahead of its release by checking out one of 150 listening parties happening and independent record stores across the United States (see the participating shops in the Instagram post below).
Watch the censored video for “Jerkin” by clicking “Watch on YouTube” below, and watch the uncensored version (age 18 and over) by visiting the band’s website.