Amyl and the Sniffers Cartoon Darkness (Cartoon Black Edition) LP

Recorded with producer Nick Launay at Foo Fighters' 606 Studios in Los Angeles, on the same desk that captured Nirvana's Nevermind and Fleetwood Mac's Rumours, the latest Amyl and The Sniffers album is their most diverse yet. It stretches from classic punk to the glammy strut of hit single "U Should Not Be Doing That" to the stormy balladry of "Big Dreams" to pugnacious punk of "Jerkin." The Sniffers are back and back with a vengeance — bigger, brighter, smarter and sharper in every way.

Raucous, muscular, and a ton of fun, the third LP from Australian upstarts Amyl and the Sniffers is one of the most punk moves they could make as their star rises around the world. Instead of getting comfortable with their burgeoning success and altering their sound for a growing mainstream audience, they veer off a cliff with maniacal smiles and wild abandon on Cartoon Darkness, a rabid, defiant collection of middle fingers. Building upon their no-frills punk with hulking, stadium-rock scope, Cartoon Darkness is a sweaty, visceral thrill, apt for aggressive revelry, driving too fast, and scrapping for the fun of it. It's not a very friendly listen, but that's not the point: confrontational and cathartic, it's existential bloodletting with a warrior's fury and a shredded throat.