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After a lockdown-mandated break, The Amazons are back with what vocalist and songwriter Matt Thompson has called their ‘most joyous album’, and right from the get-go, you can tell that’s true. That isn’t to say that there haven’t been more upbeat moments in their previous two albums – or that either of them has suffered for it – but from the opening of the very first track and the third single from the album, ‘How Will I Know?’, Joe Emmett’s drums hold a catchy beat, Elliot Briggs provides a steady, tuneful bassline, and Chris Alderton balances the two out perfectly with an impressively neat introduction on his guitar. When Thompson’s vocals kick in, they’re clear and strong. The song is a perfect opener, and the talented lyricism matches up against the instruments to create a sense of bittersweet nostalgia, even if you don’t know what it is you’re remembering and missing.
‘Northern Star’ is the fifth song on the album and the longest, and while a little slower than its four predecessors, it maintains the album’s uplifting high, and is then immediately swept off its feet by number six, ‘Wait For Me’, which starts with a speedy pace on the drums, leading into a rousing guitar riff courtesy of Alderton, before Thompson’s vocals kick in in full swing. The song is the shortest on the album and wastes no time packing in encouragingly optimistic lyrics and as much dance-worthy instrumental as they can get in under three minutes – definitely my favourite on the album.
We get to ‘Ready For Something’, the second single released from the album, and it’s easy to tell why it was chosen as a single. The lyrics are fairly simple, which makes the song prime real estate for a stomping, lively anthem, and when coupled with the time Alderton, Emmett and Briggs are given to show off their skills, it’s impossible to not get out of your seat for it, even when you’re just sitting at home. It’s balanced out again, almost immediately, with the softer, balladic ‘For The Night’, in which Thompson’s voice gets its chance to shine in equal form, commanding attention with a beautiful lamentation over a piano and minimal other instrumentation.
It does feel, listening to the album all the way through, like there is a weight lifted off of their previous two albums, a different direction that isn’t quite as dark in tone but with a light-heartedness that suits them all the same. The entire album feels like a consistent winner for me, well-balanced and full of slightly gentler yet still anthemic tunes that will all be inevitably persistent earworms – at least until their next album.
Available 9th September, more information here.
Review – El Vipond
UK INSTORES & HEADLINE TOUR
9-Sep-22 Brighton Resident
10-Sep-22 Bournemouth Vinilo
10-Sep-22 Southampton Vinilo
11-Sep-22 Manchester HMV
11-Sep-22 Liverpool Jacaranda
12-Sep-22 Birmingham The Vault
13-Sep-22 London Rough Trade East
14-Sep-22 Bristol Rough Trade Bristol
15-Sep-22 Nottingham Rough Trade Nottingham
6-Oct-22 Belfast Limelight 2
8-Oct-22 Manchester Academy
9-Oct-22 Nottingham Rock City
11-Oct-22 Southampton Guildhall
12-Oct-22 Bristol Academy
13-Oct-22 Leeds Academy
15-Oct-22 Birmingham Institute
16-Oct-22 Glasgow SWG3 Galvanisers
17-Oct-22 Newcastle Boilershop
19-Oct-22 Norwich UEA
20-Oct-22 London Roundhouse
Ticket details here: https://theamazons.co.uk/
