It's visceral energy and simplistic execution has always made it arguably the greatest of rock's many sub-genres for expressing anger or frustration. Amyl & The Sniffers understand this succinctly.

The Melbourne four-piece aren't here to explore complicated time signatures or electronic soundscapes.

They're a balls-to-the-floor punkish pub rock band which mines their heroes of the past like The Stooges, The Sex Pistols, and even AC/DC. The sharpie mullets completes the homage to the '70s pub rock scene.

However, Amyl & The Sniffers don't merely provide a tribute to the formative years of punk. They have breathed fresh air into the genre to make it relevant and bloody good fun in 2019.

Wednesday night's sold-out Small Ballroom show at 48 Watt Street was The Sniffers Newcastle debut.

The new Small Ballroom, formerly a church hall, is hardly one of Newcastle's premier band rooms. It's like a relic of the '70s or '80s complete with a low stage. Yet, in this instance, it provided the perfect environment for The Sniffers' assault.

The crowd was a curious mix of young indie types and middle-aged punk devotees who'd obviously read the likes of UK music magazine NME wax lyrical about The Sniffers leading Australia's latest pub rock revival.

The younger folk were up the front ripping and tearing in the mosh pit, while the older punters stood further back and to cast a critical eye on whether The Sniffers deserved to be Australia's "buzz band."

On the strength of Wednesday night's performance it's difficult to deny that there's something truly special happening here. The nostalgic sound certainly helps, especially when much of today's music is centred around electronic beats.

Snaring vocalist Amy Taylor is the main attraction. She's a rabid chihuahua on stage; eyes ablaze, mouth sneering and her bleached blonde sharpie mullet thrashing about. It's impossible not to watch her.

However, Taylor was fairly tame compared to previous performances. There was no writhing around on her back and only one instance of crowd-surfing.

The Sniffers opened with Star Fire 500 and its elongated opening gave Taylor time to gauge the energy of the crowd, to see whether Newcastle was buying into their manic routine. They were.

The pace was frenetic early when they delivered the singles - I'm Not a Loser, Got You and Cup Of Destiny - in rapid succession.

One of the only breaks in the sonic onslaught came when drummer Bryce Wilson broke his kick pedal and needed it fixed.

"Let's be honest, nobody here thought we were professional," Taylor joked with enough ocker Australian drawl to make Steve Irwin sound posh.

If anything, Amyl & The Sniffers surprised with their level of polish. Their extensive overseas touring in Europe and the US, which included appearances at Glastonbury and Roskilde Festivals, has turned them into a tight live unit.

Monsoon Rock and Shake Ya were impressive, but the obvious highlight was Some Mutts (Can't Be Muzzled).

After guitarist Dec Martens built up the tension with his Angus Young-style guitar riff, Taylor was let off the leash.

Support band Coffin hoisted Martens, Taylor and bassist Gus Romer on their shoulders for the final chorus. Then Coffin guitarist Abijah Rado climbed a stack of speakers and dived into the crowd to put an exclamation point on the gig.

This was visceral pub rock at its most thrilling. Are Amyl & The Sniffers worth the hype? They just might be.