Hand in hand with their first stateside tour supporting Dirty Honey, Reading-based rock and roll quartet The Amazons have released a primped and preened compilation of some of their most popular songs complete with a new cover and a new title: Introducing...The Amazons. Aptly named, as they'll be making their American debut tonight in Austin, Texas, where the entire crowd will undoubtedly fall as head over heels in love with their music as I have been for nearly a year now. Everyone who knows me knows that I haven't shut up about this band since early 2019. I secretly only started this blog so people would have to listen to me talk about them.
When I started the record and heard "Mother" go into "In My Mind" it genuinely threw me off, as I'm so used to hearing "Mother" into "Fuzzy Tree" that I'd never considered hearing anything else, but this compilation really shows the strength of their entire discography and how their two full-length releases really are companions to one another. Drawing influence from the 60s and 70s, both sonically and stylistically, The Amazons have crafted a very specific sound and aesthetic that feeds into all of my bluesy, jazzy, rock and roll daydreams, and it's so much more sincere than any other band who are trying to make rock and roll in 2020.
Introducing...The Amazons includes three new songs: an acoustic version of the first track, "Mother," "Heart of Darkness," and "Howlin." The acoustic version of "Mother" is as much honey to my soul as the original, in no way laid-back or languid, but significantly less guitar-heavy (but the placement of the solos in this version is impeccable), and draws our attention more to lead singer Matt Thompson's righteous vocals. It definitely feels as if you're sat in the studio with them as they're playing the song. I'm secretly hoping they whip this one out for tour. "Heart of Darkness" is a brand-new tune (they played "Howlin" a few times back in 2018) and you can feel the band's passion for their craft in this song, hear the fire in the lyrics Thompson's belting. This is a love song, a dark one at that, and its intensity is almost overwhelming in the best way possible. "Howlin" reminds me so decisively of all of the music that I was raised on that I was instantly hooked. I'm not usually a huge fan of comparing bands to other, older, more famous groups, because I don't want to put them in a box, but there is nothing about The Amazons that doesn't have me convinced they came from the 1970s to save the future of rock and roll.
The Amazons will be out on tour with Dirty Honey from tonight, January 17th, until the end of February. They are hitting almost every major city in this country. Please, please, please spend a night watching them do what they do best. They command a crowd like no other band I've ever seen. You can find them on Twitter, Instagram, and their website. They have a collab coming out with Uncool Records (of SWMRS infamy) for a limited edition pressing of this album on vinyl, so keep an eye out for that.
Dirty Honey 2020 North American Rolling 7s Tour Jan. 17 – Austin, TX – The Parish Jan. 18 – Dallas, TX – The Blue Light Jan. 19 – Houston, TX – Warehouse Live Jan. 21 – New Orleans, LA – The Parish at House of Blues Jan. 22 – Destin, FL – Club LA Jan. 24 – Cape Coral, FL – Dixie Roadhouse Jan. 25 – Jacksonville, FL – Jack Rabbits Jan. 27 – Huntsville, AL – Sidetracks Jan. 28 – Nashville, TN – The Basement East Jan. 29 – Johnson City, TN – Capone's Jan. 31 – Baltimore, MD – Metro Gallery Feb. 1 – Harrisburg, PA – Stage On Herr at HMAC Feb. 5 – Brooklyn, NY – Knitting Factory Feb. 7 – Grand Rapids, MI – The Stache Feb. 8 – Flint, MI – The Machine Shop Feb. 10 – Detroit, MI – The Shelter Feb. 11 – Chicago, IL – Bottom Lounge Feb. 12 – Milwaukee, WI – Turner Hall Ballroom Feb. 14 – St. Louis, MO – Old Rock House Feb. 15 – Kansas City, MO – Riot Room Feb. 17 – Denver, CO – Bluebird Theatre Feb. 21 – Seattle, WA – Nuemos Feb. 22 – Portland, OR – Polaris Hall Feb. 25 – San Francisco, CA – Slim's Feb. 28 – Los Angeles, CA – El Rey Theatre
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