The Amazons' fourth record feels like the moment someone flings open the curtains the morning after a bender - stark, sobering and unexpectedly revealing. '
21st Century Fiction' is what happens when a millennial guitar band grow up and realise their UCAS personal statements might have been selling them a bit of a fairytale.
'21st Century Fiction' opens with the industrial growl of '
Living A Lie', immediately establishing a darker, more confrontational tone than their previous work. The production, shared between Catherine Marks and Pete Hutchings, with Royal Blood's Mike Kerr popping in to sprinkle his magic over '
My Blood', gives the album a muscular polish that serves both its heavier moments and quieter reflections.
The record truly finds its stride with '
Pitch Black', a tightly-coiled spring of a track that showcases the band's evolution. Here, they blend their trademark guitar work with a sense of restraint and release.
Thematically, the album grapples with the fiction of guaranteed progress - that neat narrative of university, career, and home ownership that's proved increasingly hollow for a generation. Frontman Matt Thomson's approaching-30 wobble becomes a lens through which to examine broader societal myths, particularly around masculinity and success. The American influences throughout are unmistakable, notably on '
Love Is A Dog From Hell', which carries a distinctive Southern edge. It's a direction that suits them.
