THE AMAZONS - HOW WILL I KNOW IF HEAVEN WILL FIND ME?
After three years and a daunting pandemic in between, British four-piece band, The Amazons, have returned with an uplifting and poignant album.
The four gentlemen from Reading, Berkshire formed The Amazons in 2014, dropping their debut album three years later to great acclaim in the UK. In their third album How Will I Know If Heaven Will Find Me?, the band offers listeners songs that are a sharp contrast from their previous Future Dust, a record containing introspective lyrics coupled with anxious guitar tones that gave it a dark and reflective quality.
The group decided to give the audience something different with this new project, partially inspired by frontman Matt Thompson’s long-distance relationship with his L.A.-based girlfriend. In an interview with Apple Music, Thompson said, “in the last couple of years, everyone has experienced a long-distance relationship in a way. Now was the time to explore it because something deeply personal to me turned into one of the most universal things I could talk about. The heart of the album is finding our North Star of what we’re trying to do with our music.”
Upon listening to the opening track ‘How Will I Know,’ one can hear the hope and optimism sprouting from their headphones through this colorful arrangement of blissful guitars and energetic percussion sequences. It’s an anthemic song that starts the album well and keeps the audience interested in the rich change from their previous work.
Although there are occasions where Thompson confesses his confusion about where the relationship with his partner stands, he still approaches it with a demeanor of assuredness in what the future brings. He also follows this common thread in music that conveys excitement about life post-pandemic– almost like a rebirth that he didn’t know was needed until he was in lockdown, separated from the things he cherished. Tracks like ‘Ready For Something’ and ‘Bloodrush’ describe a longing to taste the fruits of life whether it be the triumphs or the failures. This type of exuberance carries itself throughout the album’s themes of long-distance love and personal evolution.
In the song ‘Say It Again,’ there’s a unique intimacy within the lyrics that makes it such a great standout with the lines, “Coffee stained your bedsheets baby/ Never knew that I was ready/Whispering/Voices breaking with the dawn” in the opening verse. It is of no surprise that this was composed with the assistance of indie rock extraordinaire Maggie Rogers who just came off of the success of a heartfelt sophomore album. Power ballads like this one and ‘Northern Star’ have this stripped, minimalistic energy that puts one in the mind of early 2000s bands like Matchbox 20 and Maroon 5.
Between Thompson’s golden voice and the band’s joyous playing overall, anyone listening to this album couldn’t help but feel as if they were floating in an endless cloud of euphoria. Amid so many songs that explore the toxicity of relationships in the social media age, it is refreshing to hear a new take on love despite the obstacles that have to be tackled to maintain one.
Alana Brown-Davis
★★★☆☆