As the final curtain falls on 2017, The Amazons are undoubtedly one of the year’s biggest success stories in the world of breaking British rock bands. Their self-titled debut album smashed into the album charts at #8 when it was released in the summer, and it also landed two places higher on the vinyl album chart. They made a triumphant return to her hometown festival Reading when they played to a packed BBC Introducing Stage, while their autumn headline tour was entirely sold-out in advance.

Now the quartet put the finishing touches to a triumphant year by sharing a new video for their debut album’s closing track ‘Palace’. The video juxtaposes live footage from their sold-out show at the O2 Kentish Town Forum with clips of frontman Matt Thomson performing the song in his garage. It encapsulates the band’s meteoric rise: songs which were written long before The Amazons made a name for themselves are now hollered back at them by a growing devoted fanbase.

The foundations for their success were set long before the year started. A Music Week survey demonstrated they were were the most hotly-tipped guitar band of 2017, notably by being listed in the BBC Music Sound of 2017 poll. They ticked off a rush of accomplishments - extensive Radio 1 support and a set at the Big Weekend, debut performances on ‘Later.. With Jools Holland’ and ‘Sunday Brunch’, and a Live Lounge performance that included a reinvention of Dua Lipa’s ‘New Rules’ - in a year that their debut album cracked the charts.

The Amazons also made inroads towards making a name for themselves internationally too. Over the course of the year they toured Europe extensively, played their debut Stateside shows in New York and Los Angeles and even hit Japan for the Fuji Rock festival.

February

1st - Birmingham, O2 Institute

2nd - Glasgow, Garage

3rd - Manchester, Albert Hall  - SOLD OUT

8th - Cambridge, Junction 1

9th - Portsmouth, Pyramids

10th - Reading, The Hexagon

The Amazons, whose self-titled debut smashed into the album charts at #8 earlier this summer. It also reached #6 on the vinyl album chart. The year started in style for the young Reading-based quartet as they became the most hotly-tipped guitar band of 2017 according to Music Week. That flying start was extended with continuing support from Radio 1, a debut performance on Later… with Jools Holland and the backing of a wide range of print and online media. The Amazons couldn’t be ignored.

Now they have shared a brand new static video for the album cut and fan favourite ‘Ultraviolet’, which was produced by the Grammy nominated Catherine Marks (Wolf Alice, Foals, PJ Harvey). A counterpoint to the band’s more visceral moments, ‘Ultraviolet’ signposts their arena-filling potential with insistent melody, an anthemic holler-along hook and explosive dynamic shifts. Lyrically it’s immediately relatable too, with frontman Matt Thomson exploring the yearning and confusion which accompanies young love.

“‘Ultraviolet’ is about all the things you fill your head with during lonely hours. The silence and the space when they don’t call you back. All the things you want to say but can’t find the words,” says Thomson. “We’re excited for this track to be our next single knowing it’s become a favourite amongst our fans since the release of the album, and also having seen how crowds have engaged with it at our live shows.”

The track’s parent album includes the punk ‘n’ roll rush of opener ‘Stay With Me’, the playful rhythmic drive that underpins ‘Black Magic’, and the foreboding grunge of ‘Little Something’. Elsewhere, ‘Burn My Eyes’ recalls both Husker Du and Biffy Clyro with its cocktail of visceral aggression and melodic intent, while ‘Raindrops’ showcases Thomson’s emotive vocal delivery. The album comes to surprise conclusion with the lighters-aloft piano ballad ‘Palace’ which demonstrates another angle to band away from their fiery wall of sound.

The Amazons’ ascent has continued in the live arena too. Their first headline tour of the year was entirely sold-out and their festival scheduled has extended from Glastonbury and BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend at home to dates all across the rest of Europe. A big moment for the band is set to come with a homecoming set on the Festival Republic Stage at the Reading Festival later this month. The Amazons’ previous Reading Festival performance on the BBC Introducing Stage represented a turning point for the band as local fans and newcomers alike were spilling out of the tent in order to catch their set.

October’s headline tour will be their biggest to date and the first since their album was released. Tickets for the dates, listed below, are selling quickly with several nights already sold-out. Remaining tickets are on sale from http://theamazons.co.uk.

HEADLINE SHOWS

OCTOBER

2nd - The Waterfront, Norwich

3rd - The Leadmill, Sheffield (SOLD OUT)

4th - The Liquid Room, Edinburgh

6th – Rescue Rooms, Nottingham (SOLD OUT)

8th – The Riverside, Newcastle (SOLD OUT)

9th - The Tramshed, Cardiff

11th - Phoenix, Exeter

12th - The 02 Forum Kentish Town, London

13th - Engine Rooms, Southampton (SOLD OUT)

14th - SWX, Bristol

UK FESTIVALS

 AUGUST

 25th – Reading Festival

26th – Leeds Festival

 OCTOBER

 7th – Neighbourhood Festival