Where some bands hit their stride from the off, other groups need time to develop and grow: though the first three records from Reading’s The Amazons were a bit of a mixed bag, their new album represents a more confident version of this up-and-coming rock outfit. In many ways, the project sees The Amazons at their creative peak, dialling in a number of their most unique and impressive songs to date. In too many others, though, ‘21st Century Fiction’ bites off more than it can chew and winds up choking on its own ambition.

From its opening moments, the album makes its intentions pretty clear: this is the biggest, loudest, most bombastic Amazons record, and the band want you to know it. ‘Living A Lie’ is almost certainly their most explosive opener to date, building to the introduction of the fuzzy bass and guitar tones that come to define ‘21st Century Fiction:’ when the group see fit to indulge in these almost stoner rock-esque elements— easily the most interesting sounds the band have ever employed— things always seem to be on the up-and-up. The opening cut balances those grimy instrumental layers against stylish writing, showcasing some greatly infectious drumming, and that confidence continues into the equally enjoyable ‘Night After Night:’ we’ve never heard The Amazons sounding so raw and unrestrained as this, and it makes for a fantastic opening leg to the record.

Single ‘Pitch Black’ is another highlight early in the record— even if the song isn’t quite as ferocious as those previous, it carries with it enough gun-touting swagger to justify its infectious hook, and to overcome a somewhat lacklustre guitar solo. It’s from here on that The Amazons appear to overbalance though, pushing their sound choices past ‘daring’ into ‘intrusive.’ The blaring brass inclusions on ‘My Blood’ sound more like a WWE-parody than a triumphant stadium anthem, especially when the track commits to trudging through its four-minute runtime: Matthew Thompson and company clearly have arena rock in their sights, and it’s not always an idea they execute upon. The worst moments of ‘21st Century Fiction’ confuse ‘loud’ with ‘bold’— how else would we end up with the exhausting rumblings of ‘Joe Bought A Gun’ or the disorienting country influences and irritating vocal refrains of ‘Love Is A Dog From Hell?’

Outside of that remarkable first leg, the album struggles to find a sonic sweet spot between impactfulness and outright abrasion. ‘Wake Me Up’ leans toward the stronger side of the record, bringing with it another memorable chorus and more of those lovable guitar tones, though the lethargic tempo really does harm an otherwise solid cut— it’s an issue remedied completely by standout ‘The Heat! pt.2,’ a cut funkier and much more inspired than any of the songs either side of it. The Amazons make it a habit to tease the listener with moments of impressive writing and musicianship, but the next bout of mishandled theatrics is never far away— case in point, closer ‘Go All The Way.’ While the band’s desire for a ‘Knights of Cydonia’ moment at the LP’s climax is an admirable one, this attempt is way off the mark, taking far too long to build to one of the most sluggish and forgettable riffs on the entire project— once again, more layers do not an impressive song make, and ‘21st Century Fiction’ ends up closing on a swing and a miss.

There’s a similarly underwhelming feeling that permeates the lyrical choices here: though The Amazons are juggling some of their most ambitious themes and ideas in 2025, they don’t always make the best case to be the ones to do so. ‘21st Century Fiction’ dives headfirst into the restlessness that seems to define the modern world, detailing battles with nihilism and the desire to make a real change— they’re interesting ideas, and the band manage to convey them consistently across the album.

“All my little desires

Wear me down to the wire

I can't dream, I can't hide, I can't look in your eye

Cos it's clear to me that we've been living a lie”

Dishearteningly though, Thompson and company don’t really find a unique angle at any point— thoughtful lyricists, the band are not, and another Muse comparison can be made is just how vapid and generic many of the more politically-minded moments of the album can be. There’s a lot to be said for commentary on toxic masculinity, as cuts like ‘Joe Bought A Gun’ demonstrate: it’s such a shame, then, to see The Amazons semantically skirting around the majority of these issues on songs like ‘My Blood’, delivering lyrics that would probably look better on a t-shirt than they do under a literary microscope.

“There's something in my blood

Something in the fire that burns my heart

I won't let it stop

I can't give it up 'cause it's in my blood 

Yeah, it's in my blood”

For all our naysaying, this may well be the best Amazons album yet— the band have pulled out some of their most explosive material in the likes of ‘Night After Night,’ ‘The Heat! pt.2’ and ‘Living A Lie,’ proving that the three-piece do indeed deserve the attention they’ve been getting. At the same time though, ‘21st Century Fiction’ is weighed down by an uneven track list and a crippling case of overambition. With time, we hope to be delighted by a powerful modern rock epic from the band— unfortunately, those prayers haven’t quite been answered yet.