The Amazons’ new era: ‘maybe great bands reflect how messy life can be’
3/5 of The Amazons’ (left to right): George LePage, Ella McRobb, Matt Thomson. Image credit: Bethany Cordery
‘Ella's voice and George’s drums are all over the last album, now we’ve just made it official.’
If you’ve had anything to do with British indie rock music over the last ten years, you’ve probably heard of The Amazons somewhere along the way.
Following their breakout self-titled debut album in 2017 which featured cult hits ‘Black Magic’ and ‘In My Mind’, the band have continued to expand and explore their sound, rooted in grungy guitars and belted vocals, taking their music to multiple festival stages, international tours and iconic venues.
In May, The Amazons announced that long-time collaborators vocalist Ella McRobb and drummer George LePage had officially joined the line-up, and have since released singles co-written with Robb for the first time, ‘Blood on the Bone’ and ‘One Hot July’. As the band prepare for their upcoming tour with the release of ‘21st Century Fiction (Epilogue)’, TOPNOTE spoke with the band about the new chapter.
Read our full interview with Matt Thomson, Ella McRobb, and George LePage below.
The Amazons chat to TOPNOTE about ‘21st Century Fiction: (Epilogue)’ and 2026 UK/IR tour.
TOPNOTE: So, we have two members of The Amazons, can you each talk about your journeys into the band?
George: Unofficially, I guess, I've been knocking around since Joe left. I was living with Elliot [Briggs], the bassist, and my fiancé Jess, who’s been the long-standing photographer with the guys. When Joe left, it was an easy fix while they figured out what was going on. And then it progressed to the point where it was more… me.
Matt: Yeah, Joe left in ‘22, and then you became more cemented, end of ‘23, and very much so when we did the ‘21st Century Fiction’ album. We wanted someone who was committed, enthusiastic and excited about being in the band, and could grow into the role. We were going into the new year and thought, actually, the vision of what The Amazons could be is just widened with George and Ella.
Ella: We were asked at the same time. We'd been to see The Book of Mormon for Matthew's birthday. That was a cold November evening and then we had a few months to prepare. I've known you boys since [Camden] Roundhouse number one, 2022. Matt had his 30th birthday… That was when I first properly met everyone in the band. We had a few months where I was doing demos from home. And then came the time to do ‘21st Century Fiction’ recording, and I was asked if I'd like to sing on it. It gradually became a point where I was quite involved, and the boys wanted to keep me around.
Matt: Ella's got her own solo career, so that was more of a distinct decision. George felt like it was bubbling up… and I never wanted to be a three-piece. I think great rock bands have great drummers. Ella was always more different from us, really. We were adding someone who is at the front of the mix and is a great songwriter in her own right. That would challenge people's understanding of the Amazons, I thought, and in that way it was more of a risk.
TOPNOTE: How have you found the reaction overall?
Matt: If you've seen The Amazons live in the last few years, you've got to know George, so there was that story element of him building into the band I think people really resonated with. And in the case of Ella, pretty similar. Ella's voice and George’s drums are all over the last album, now we’ve just made it official. I think there's one or two comments saying they preferred, adjacent to whatever album was their favourite, which is kind of expected.
Ella: I felt really welcomed and a positive reaction to joining the band.
Matt: As soon as Joe [Emmett] left, that collapsed the idea of this kind of Coldplay or Zeppelin, like, these are the four members, that's it. We always had ambitions for that, but life gets in the way. Maybe great bands reflect how messy life can be. As a music fan, as I've gotten older and understood the ups and downs of life a little bit more, I think the bands that reflect the messiness of life and relationships are a bit more interesting. There's so many different chapters in people's lives, everyone changes so much, why can't bands?
“We’re constantly navigating whether something is true or not, and I felt that’s probably one of the defining challenges of the 21st century and the internet age.”
TOPNOTE: You’re soon releasing the deluxe version of ‘21st Century Fiction’. What was the inspiration behind the album’s title?
Matt: Usually, we create a bunch of music and then post-rationalise it, find titles from the music. But this time we started with the title. I thought it was quite a bold one and I wanted to write music to it. We’re constantly navigating whether something is true or not, and I felt that's probably one of the defining challenges of the 21st century and the internet age. I think being children in the 20th century, we were certainly sold a vision of what adulthood would be… being able to afford property and everything, and all that stuff just seems pretty fictitious now.
TOPNOTE: What can you tell us about ‘Kickin’ In’, the next single off ‘Epilogue’?
Matt: ‘Kickin’ In’ is probably the darkest exploration of these themes we had across the new songs, of desire, and the tension of desire that's not being met. I've always loved that theme in music. We've been listening to a lot of Chris Isaac, Radiohead, and Jeff Buckley. It’s something really different for The Amazons. It's a really sludgy, groovy dark, secret little song.
George: Chris [Alderton] pops off in it.
Matt: Lyrically, I watched Wuthering Heights. I went to the premiere, so I was swept up in it all. But Jacob Elordi… the applause when it was revealed he was clean-shaven. Oh my God, the girls were going crazy.
TOPNOTE: Do you have the same reaction on stage with your beard?
Matt: Oh every show. Oh yeah (laughing). I'm wondering if I should grow the beard for the tour. It grows very, very fast. It's a high maintenance beard.
“That’s why I’ve loved being in the band, because I’ve unlocked this different persona and area of my voice that I never really allowed myself to do before. It’s not something that I’ve ever experienced, pre-joining The Amazons.”
TOPNOTE: How are you feeling about going back on tour?
Matt: We wanted to finish off ‘21st Century Fiction’ with this new release, and use it as an opportunity to hit a lot of towns we haven't played before or for a little while. We're going to play Frome for the first time, at ‘Cheese & Grain’. I'm really excited about that one. Cardiff is a show we've needed to do for a while. We cancelled the show two years ago. Sorry, Cardiff. We were horrifically ill.
And we haven't been in Belfast or Dublin for four years. [Next year] it's the 10th anniversary of our first album. That's going to be a theme for 2027, before we put out more music. This felt like an appropriate way to finish the chapter.
TOPNOTE: Do you each have a song you’re most excited to play live?
Matt: ‘Black Magic’ is always a really fun one, I haven't got sick of that one yet. Hopefully, we've kind of whipped the crowd up.
George: I think we try and surprise the crowd, just keep it fresh. I've always been a fan of what you guys did, so I came in with a relatively decent knowledge of the back catalogue, I love a lot of stuff from ‘Future Dust’. I absolutely love ‘One By One’ cause I can rip on it. ‘All Over Town’ I think needs to make a comeback. ‘Pitch Black’.
And then the new stuff, I'm really looking forward to playing ‘One Hot July’. I get to really have a breather, because it's quite a full-on set for me. Personally, the ones I enjoy playing are the ones I can sit back and really enjoy the whole ensemble, and actually take in the room. I'll also say justice for ‘Say It Again’.
Ella: ‘Wake Me Up’, I just love the build of that song. ‘Georgia’ is a favourite of mine, and then, yeah, ‘One Hot July’. To go up to the front and absolutely rip this vocal bit at the end; the build of it being super soft, and then suddenly hitting everyone with this crazy ending, and then a soft ending after that. It's a good rollercoaster. It's almost out of body, you’re so pumped up that you’re sort of not even there, but having the best time ever
Matt: You're not even there. That's cool. I like that. That's what we want as performers to find, where you're in a flow state. If there’s an aim for how you structure a set list or pick the songs, you want to build some sort of momentum, so by the time we do get to a ‘Black Magic’ or a ‘One Hot July’, everyone's just present. Which is really hard to do, now more than ever, but it's that presence that is cleansing and makes you feel great after a show.
Ella: That's why I've loved being in the band, because I've unlocked this different persona and area of my voice that I never really allowed myself to do before. I get to do the soft harmonies and then suddenly this massive moment where you get to absolutely feel amazing, and feel everything all at once. It's not something that I've ever experienced, pre-joining The Amazons.
TOPNOTE: Matt, I saw you said online ‘making music is a place you go’, so it’s good that you can recreate that feeling on stage too.
Matt: Correct. It's a place you can get to and you’ve got to hold the audience's hand. It's got to be a conversation, you've got to find authentic ways to bring people in. I think with rock and roll shows, audience participation is paramount. Because without the audience, we can't share a journey to get somewhere that’s out of our normal life.
Think about all the behaviours you see at a gig that would never happen on the street. That's a wonderful, amazing thing. It's not too dissimilar to things like… church. There's definitely parallels in behaviour and what it can do, mentally, to people. It’s a necessity, I would say, that communal experience – when you get it right.
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‘21st Century Fiction - Epilogue’ is out next Friday, and you can catch The Amazons on their UK and Ireland tour starting in September.