The Amazons at the Forum

Seeing The Amazons will strike many with a strong sense of nostalgia for their teenage years. Last night there were the skinny and awkward fresh-faced teens in double denim, faux leather jackets and laboriously sculpted hair. There was the strong, sweet and sickly smell of perfume, deodorants and sticky alcoholic drinks. There was the euphoria of youth at hearing music that expresses our inner angst.

This four-piece have been hotly tipped and awarded by numerous media outlets in recent months. They were longlisted for the BBC Music Sound of 2017 and NME and The Independent picked them out as the band to listen to. This hype is all from their self-titled album. All the while their small, but loyal, fan-base has grown to the point of packing out the Kentish Town Forum. They have come a long way in a short amount of time, from handing out CDs they had burnt of their own music at small venues in their hometown of Reading.  

The Amazons specialise in that anthemic indie rock that is fuelled by sincere teenage emotion of someone taking their first steps into the world. This is no more clear than in their single Junk Food Forever, which mixes an unaffected foreboding over first loves with an ignorance of the long-term health effects of eating loads of junk food. Their songs are a tad formulaic: loud choruses for fans to sing along to, as they did in set opener Ultraviolet, while others like In My Mind and Black Magic are driven by big guitar riffs and heavy drums. Admittedly, it’s difficult to distinguish between songs, as the choruses melt into one long track. Saying that, last night the atmosphere was electric – the crowd responded to each tune with equal vigour, marking the excitement that is bubbling up around this group, who will continue to attract a loyal following. 

Arthur Ransome’s book Swallows and Amazons is the inspiration for the band’s name. In an interview with Bounce Magazine, singer Matt Thomson, explained that they chose the book because it was “the most inoffensive, bordering on dull” thing they could think of; an anathema to rock’n’roll. Perhaps this attempt at irony might have actually been a pretty accurate description of their music.

Patrick Laredo
Photos: Guifre de Peray

For further information and future events visit The Amazons’ website here.

Watch the video for Junk Food Forever here: