“I don’t know what I am unless I’ve strapped on my boots, my suit, and the guitar”
NOW THAT the dust has settled on a busy year for The Amazons, which included their triumphant return to Reading Festival following tours of the US, UK, and Europe, they are looking to the future.
They kicked off the Sunday’s proceedings with their first Main Stage appearance at the festival back in August in a landmark moment for the three-piece.
In 2023, the band found themselves in unexpected territory as drummer Joe Emmett stepped away from the outfit at the end of last year.
They played their final show of their UK tour at the University of Reading’s 3Sixty on Thursday, December 14, which saw a jubilant performance from a band still upping their game at every turn.
We caught up with front man Matt Thomson following the show to reflect on the year and talk about what lays ahead for the band.
He said the show at 3Sixty: “Harnessed a feeling of celebration; I think the ultimate Amazons experience is when we’re playing a headline set like that.
“Festivals can be limited on time and production- Reading was such a huge moment for us, but because of the length of our songs, we only got to play about five.
“So when we’re let off the leash we really love giving a dynamic set list full of an hour and a half’s worth of materials.”
He explains that home town shows are among the band’s favourite to play: “We really relish playing here, and it’s no secret that Reading’s music scene can rival Liverpool, or Manchester, or even London.
“And we relish making friends with other musicians, which is always a hallmark of our tours, but this time it was super charged and emotional.
“Both Swim School and Fiona-Lee joined us for a tough year for musicians generally, but for such an intense tour, which meant we really connected with them.
“It was really special, and I think we’ve made friends for life.”
Their final show of the year saw all three of the acts on stage for a jubilant cover of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Happy Xmas (War Is Over).
“It’s a different kind of pleasure,” Matt explained, “to tell the support bands that we’ll be doing not only one of our tracks together, but also a Christmas cover.
“It was quite fun seeing the terror in their eyes and keeping them on their toes.
“But you need to put a bit of jeopardy in there, a bit of risk- ultimately there’s no reward if you don’t up the stakes.”
It was also a fitting capstone for the year, which he said was a tough one for many performers, but which also saw the band in unusual territory.
“There aren’t many musicians who haven’t had a tough year, but for us personally after Joe stepped back last year.
“We were disoriented by that, because he was so much more than a drummer: he was an older brother to us, too.
“So we needed to dig into conversations about what we are and where we want to take this– all while writing a new record.”
He said that ahead of their Main Stage appearance at Reading Festival this year: “we felt we were in the doldrums a bit and we were kind of all over the place emotionally.
“From then onwards, though, there was a real re-calibration, and it was a return to our roots and how we do things as a rock band.”
He also explained that while Joe had stepped back, he is still close with the band.
“He came to see us at the uni show, and I just lost it– it was a really emotional thing and that night was so intense.”
Despite the intensity, Matt says he feels more than ever that on stage is where he belongs.
“The further away from that we were, the less like myself I felt, especially creatively, but also just in terms of my identity.
“I don’t know what I am unless I’ve strapped on my boots and my suit, and the guitar, and I don’t know what’s going on.
“I almost fall into a bit of a depression, which is probably something I need to work on, but when we’re performing, I feel like I could sit at the piano and write the best song in the world.
And speaking on his creativity, the performance of a song from their upcoming album at the show displayed both the new direction the band is taking and their commitment to continuation of what they’re best known for.
Matt says that the song, Night After Night: “It feels like a good blueprint for what’s coming up on the new record.
“It’s a return and a continuation of our songwriting, with relations to all of our previous records; we love the riffs and the live swing, but with more synths and samples.
“But it’s really boring to rehash the old stuff, so it comes from a darker, more frustrated place.”
He explained that this isn’t just personal, however, and more societal in its scope.
“As we get older, we find ourselves perplexed about the dreams we were sold as young people which aren’t turning out that way.
“The money doesn’t go as far as it should– I mean who the hell can even afford a house any more.”
He says it will be the culmination of their first three albums: “We have come to the realisation that we are absolute maximalists.
“It’s going to be high drama.”
But the album is not all that the band will be undertaking next year, the tenth anniversary of their formation back in 2014.
It includes appearances at Benicassim, Rock For People in the Czech Republic, and Victorious Festival in Portsmouth – but not Reading Festival, Matt confirms.
“We’ll probably try and put together our podcast, Zons FM, too and revisit that– it was so much fun to do that during Covid, so we want to do it again with a bit more refinement.
“Our intention is to do everything: the touring, the album, and we would consider doing any of that ‘extra curricular’ stuff.
“For example we had such a good experience working with Renegade Brewery on the beer, so I’d love to strengthen our bond with Reading Football Club.”
There have even been calls for the band to take charge of the club following continued criticisms of its owner, Dai Yongge.
“We always get a lot of Royals supporters at our shows, and our message to them is to hold on: in our experience, the club is stacked with great people, they’re just being let down by the owner.
“I think good times are coming and it will be sold– not to us, but it’s flattering that there are calls for us to buy it.
“There’s unfortunately a bit of a disparity between the amount of money we actually have, but it’s incredibly flattering.”
He stopped short of ruling out the possibility however: “We are open to heading a consortium of investors.
“If that opportunity ever arose, we’d personally hand it back to Sir John Madejski himself.”
The first series of The Amazons’ podcast, Zons FM, is available on Spotify via:
Full details of upcoming dates and news from The Amazons is available via their website: theamazons.co.uk
