"We are The Amazons, at their very best": The Amazons Live at The Sugarmill, Including Full Play through of New Album 21st Century Fiction

Words: Darci Jackson

Photography: Izzi Glover

"The Sugarmill, we meet at last," mused The Amazons frontman Matt Thomson in front of an astonishingly dramatic stage setup complete with draped white curtains and stark light bulbs.

"This is the first and potentially only time we’re playing our new album all the way through."

And from the sharp intakes of breath and distinct murmuring, it was a decision that not only shocked, but dazzled the crowd as we stood through what felt like a theatrical performance of The Amazons’ brand new album 21st Century Fiction.

Following the departure of drummer Joe Emmett in 2022, the Reading rock quartet became a trio, and the radio silence was palpable.

But three years later, they’re back with yet another dimension of their unequivocally alternative sound, something more gnarly and heavy yet featuring glints of country and opera vocals too.

And they’re not the only ones with a new album; support act Balancing Act are wide-eyed and bushy-tailed with Part 1 of their debut album Who’ve You Come As? being released at the start of October.

Their sultry, rumbling, somewhat strange alt rock almost feels like a spell being chanted, as at points of the set frontman Kai Jon Roberts was crooning to us in no more than a whisper. But no more than a second after the tone is brought down, it’s ramped straight back up, with each cog of the quartet as vibrant as the next, each getting their turn in the limelight. There’s something so fresh about Balancing Act, yet also a slickness to them, creating a spark which will only grow brighter with the release of Part 2 of their album.

"We’ve been wanting to play with these guys forever, so it means the world to us," praised Roberts.

As The Amazons strolled on stage in complete darkness with no music to accompany them, we were led into opening track Living A Lie, guided effortlessly by Ella McRobb, a classically trained musician featuring on the album with her purely angelic vocals. As McRobb and Thomson turned to each other, harmonising on the final notes of the song, the tension between the entire band was taut.

And combined with the ethereal stage setup, with flashing lights casting shadows of the band onto the white backdrop like ghosts, it’s obvious that The Sugarmill, in all its sticky floored and purple-walled glory, is a venue meant to soak up thundering guitars and pure rock.

Thomson reminisced on always saying it was a venue they’d play after reading about it in the back pages of NME and Kerrang!.

"10 years later, we’re here."

And what a place to lay down 21st Century Fiction in its entirety.

Night After Night followed, a track full of zeal, sounding like classic The Amazons; heavy rock combined with the melody of a catchy chorus. Clad in leather and plaid shirts (and a tea in hand for an unwell Thomson), the band are true masters of their craft, with the entire production pinpoint accurate and clearly rehearsed within an inch of its life, to bring such an honest and magnificent body of work to life.

A touching moment followed before Wake Me Up, when Thomson explained how it was a mantra to himself, with the album being full of "frustrations and personal turmoil," and being an outlet for the band as they navigate their 30s. As the bass of Elliot Briggs and the guitar of Chris Alderton worked together in complete tandem, it felt like a rare outpouring of emotion and laying their cards entirely on the table. 21st Century Fiction is the band showing who they truly are, and it’s the honesty that makes this era truly special.

At various points during the evening, when fans were raising their hands in pure passion, belting the words back, Thomson would point at them with a grin, eyes wide with glee, sharing a fleeting moment of respect between the two. Between songs when the stage would go quiet, the entire room was silent too, no muttering or chatter, just Thomson speaking to a crowd of avid listeners, a clear sign of the power that The Amazons can hold for just a couple of hours.

That is, until select hecklers sent the band into laughter. Particularly when one concerned fan shouted "How are you feeling?" to a cold-ridden Thomson.

"Fucked," was the reply followed by "I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the world, I tell you," before turning to his left and right with:

"I love you all very much," as Alderton blew him a kiss across the stage.

It’s a show clearly meant for bigger stages, yet the intimacy of the evening was just the right setting to showcase the album in full, with songs such as Heaven Now that had never been played live.

As the final notes of Go All The Way rang out, Thomson belted out:

"Ladies and gentlemen, 21st Century Fiction. We are The Amazons, at their very best."

And truer notes hadn’t been spoken all night.

Before we even had chance to catch our breath, we jumped straight into a medley of The Amazons’ classics, such as In My Mind, Black Magic and Junk Food Forever, a complete nostalgia nose dive that felt as if we’d turned the clocks back for Autumn more than an hour.

But the standout had to be the extended version of Mother, complete with a bone rattling drum solo from their current touring drummer George Le Page. As a single spotlight cascaded onto him, the rest of the band stood at either side of the stage, allowing Le Page a moment to showcase everything he had been pouring into the set from start to finish.

It’s a truly astonishing comeback from a band as deep-rooted in British rock as The Amazons. But, we were never in doubt that they would come back fighting, and with such a sincere offering as 21st Century Fiction.