The Amazons, their debut album, and the sort of rock music we've been waiting for for twenty years
It's been a long, long time since the last true rock record entered the charts.
Oasis' Be Here Now was released in August 1997 at a time when a band like themselves were half way to conquering the world, monopolising the music business and bringing the national press to a standstill. Yeah, they were that big.
At that time in history, it became normal for rockstars like the Gallaghers, renowned and unashamed of their hedonistic lifestyles, to be invited to functions usually only attended by socialites and actors. They associated with A-list celebrities like Kate Moss and Johnny Depp, and even rubbed elbows with the Prime Minister as Tony Blair attempted to connect with the people and anchor his New Labour policies into place by mingling with the middle-class.
But what got them there in the first place was the music. As 2017 hurtles on, the charts are still dominated by the modern idea of popular music; computerised, pre-made sounds assembled into monotonous beats, usually unabashedly employing the melody or hook from a forgotten hit that entered at number 33 fifteen years earlier.
When BHN was released in August 1997, it become the fastest selling album of all-time in the UK. 424,000 (thousand) copies flew off the shelves on the first day of release. Why? Because it was loud, it was upbeat, and each and every song Oasis put out seemed to be an anthem which got people singing along and simply getting off their backsides and enjoying themselves. People were proud to be British again.
But what strikes a chord in their discography is the surprising but unintentional similarity to the bombastic rock music that swept away seas of people twenty years ago and left them gasping in awe at just how great it was. Is it back?
Well, the short answer is no. The Amazons, who released their debut on the 29th May, have a long way to come before they scale the heights that their northern counterparts did two decades ago. Their maiden effort didn't sail to the top of the charts, nor did it set any records - but it's refreshing. Very refreshing.
THE AMAZONS
Released 26th May on Fiction Records
In the modern era, rock music seems to come in two forms. It's classed as either 'indie' or 'alternative'. Your guess is as good as mine to the Oxford definition of those two categories, but Oasis were neither. They were Britpop.
Over the past decade or so, British bands have come and gone. The likes of Arctic Monkeys, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Circa Waves and the like are archetypally 'indie', where as bands like Kings of Leon and Royal Blood are on the other side of the line. Stereotypically, it's British outfits that are known as 'indie bands' and American bands as 'rock bands.'
The Amazons have found a midpoint. It may be too early to bank, but it looks like they've got it. Parted the sea. Found that special sector, that rare sound that falls into both categories. The amps are still turned up to 11, but that music does nothing but put a smile on your face. Their 11-track LP is a sonic beam of light in what is a wholly dark period in the rock universe. They've got a lot of learning to do - but if they continue on in any sort of vein like this, then I'm truly excited for what's to come.
The opening song on the record is a re-recorded version of the four-piece's first ever single, 'Stay With Me'. It fades in with a Franz-Ferdinand-esque reverbing chord, before power-punching it's way into a fervent instrumental opening. Lead singer Matt's soothing vocals talk of a female compatriot, and a riveting, blow-the-roof-off-your-festival-tent chorus makes this song a valid first tune for the album.
'Burn My Eyes' starts with a resemblance to a band like 'Nirvana' with a grimier sound and a soft-loud dynamic, but the distinctly Amazonial chorus and middle section makes this album-only track another fun listen, despite not being a stand-out track.
By the third track, you get to the big boy of the record. 'In My Mind' starts with an ear-splitting, high pitched feedback wail and an instantly recognisable riff, like those you wish you had the brain capacity to come up with while 'sitting in the tour van'. The song is immediately a classic, with brazen lyrics about the youthful struggles of not knowing exactly what you want. The song gets better and better with a wild but graceful guitar solo in the middle of the song, which starts by playing the intro riff in a higher octave, before spiralling out of control into an air-splicing piece of work. It's one of those that makes you smile without realising, as you slowly come to appreciate just how good the song is.
'Junk Food Forever' was re-released a single, despite being possibly the bands earliest songs. A lighter-hearted number with another catchy hook, the song implements heavier rock sections aswell as acoustic breaks. The decidedly teenage lyrics just add to the songs appeal, and the triumphant cries of 'don't wanna be alone' are just another small window into the lives of a group of four young boys hoping for stardom.
The fifth track 'Raindrops' starts to unearth flaws in the bands creativity. A weak pillar in an otherwise promising debut, 'Raindrops' begins as two other tracks do, sounding like the band have just had the amps turned out and weren't yet ready to pump out another performance. Drums enter the field after around four seconds, before lacklustre lyrics put a downer on the song before it's even got started. 'Raindrops dripping down my windows' doesn't exactly flow off the tongue, and 'I've been listening to silence' is one mildly overused juxtaposition.
'Black Magic' is another oft-spotted song title. We've only just pulled out the ear plugs to drown out the sound of Little Mix's effort at a garbled track with the same name. Luckily, this one's a tad better. While making use of a glockenspiel tone to complement the jangly riff of the song, the falsetto in the lead vocal is more due to a strained vocal range than for effect, and the 'hit the crash cymbal as hard as possible cause that makes it more rock' approach doesn't necessarily work for the post-chorus 'drop', which stutters along like a bus with three wheels and takes a bit of the sting out of a nice build up. Still a decent effort.
'Ultraviolet' is a refreshing seventh track. An original snare-bashing drum part in the verse leads up to a catchy up-beat chorus melody. A simple verse-chorus-verse-chorus structurally, this song gets to business without messing about, and midway through showcases for the first time the bands uncanny ability to craft middle-eight instrumental sections. The song careers head on into a dark, distorted guitar section that sounds like a car engine, before taking a swift corner and flushes the earholes with a pulsating, dance-inspired guitar solo.
A darker, grizzlier track, 'Little Something' received significant airtime on BBC Radio 1 and employs a sound like that of a theme-tune to a prison-break movie. A less-than-impressive effort until the centre of the song, when once again the guitars let rip with a brash instrumental. It's a shame it doesn't last long enough to make the entire song a really good one.
'Holy Roller' catches the attention from the word go with a quirky strumming pattern. Sounding evokingly like something from Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds. A much more indie track, the washy cymbal sound in the chorus is a romantic effect on what sounds like a summery tune. The poppy 'woah-oh-woah' ad-libs in the chorus sound a bit like something Luke Pritchard might've come up with, but that isn't to take anything away from a very good song.
Another re-record, 'Something in the Water' is something of an unsung hero of the album. A thoroughly enjoyable track, it is a slower song than it's peers and includes a multitude of colossal solitary guitar segments, which like on other tracks, are more a focal point of the song than the words themselves. Leaving the song in it's original form may be the only criticism.
The curtain-drawer, 'Palace' is a sharp steer away from the rest of the album's feel, the three-and-a-half minute ballad is in plain terms just a piano and Matt Thomson's echoing vocals. It has an obvious Coldplay-vibe to it, sounds like it was recorded in a concert hall, and is a somber end to an otherwise upbeat list of songs. It is an interesting choice to close the album, with the haunting question 'you love it when he makes you cry... don't you?' reverberating in the ears of listeners as the album draws to a close.
OVERALL
The Amazons, whether it was their decision or their labels, made a catastrophic error in not including their 2016 'Nightdriving' on the album, considering it is one of their best songs. Apart from that, the album is a wake-up call to all those other rock bands who have it in their locker, but don't put the effort in. On a negative hand, the lyrics are not particularly strong but should improve with time, and the lead vocal is nothing we haven't heard before. But overall, the album is like the cold water you splash on your face in the morning to get you ready for the day - sharp but refreshing.
A breath of fresh air in a highly polluted environment.
VERDICT: 7/10
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