Released: 24th May 2019
Rating: ★★★★
Difficult second album? Yeah, right. If 2017’s self-titled debut laid everything that The Amazons had achieved neatly out on the table, then ‘Future Dust’ sweeps it all away. It’s a record from a group that is less interested in showing where they’ve been, but instead where they could go. A different beast altogether, it shows a band that could very well climb into the top echelons of British rock.
Eighty seconds of build-up leads into a propulsive burst into life on ‘Mother’, before that opener shifts into the high velocity ‘Fuzzy Tree’. Showing early on just what is in store, there’s a confidence in the switching of gears in latest single ‘Doubt It’, it’s dirty blues groove underpinning the scorched earth chorus. It’s simply electrifying at points. Showing a similar lack of fear when it comes to album topics, the band dive into themes of lust, depression and eating disorders – all adding to the overriding feeling that this is a band coming of age.
Amidst all of the thunderstorms, there are the odd moments of calm. ‘All Over Town’ is a ready-made festival anthem, unabashed guitar pop of the sort Mr Ezra would be proud of. At the other end of the spectrum, ‘End Of Wonder’ and ‘Dark Visions’ show a muscularity and ambition that could very well have the Reading band eyeing up the big arenas in the very near future.
With its feet firmly rooted in classic rock, but never a slave to the past, ‘Future Dust’ feels like a potential defining moment for The Amazons. Where that future takes them from here could be very exciting indeed.
Jamie MacMillan
