The Amazons
U.K. rock quartet the Amazons formed in 2014. Playing an arena-sized brand of indie that combines the grandeur of Arcade Fire with the muscle of Nirvana, the Amazons crafted catchy, melodic anthems built for singalongs. At the time of their formation, vocalist Matt Thomson, guitarist Chris Alderton, and bassist Elliot Briggs were already in a group together, but when they recruited Josef "Joe" Emmet -- who is also a bassist -- on drums, the Reading band was born. Building a grassroots following in their local scene, Thomson, then working at a supermarket, would slip demo CDs into shoppers' baskets. Their debut EP, 2015's Don't You Wanna, was produced by Catherine Marks, who'd previously worked with Wolf Alice and White Lies. It included the insistent rocker "Ultraviolet" and the crunching "Junk Food Forever." Even though they only had one EP under their belts, the Amazons were brought on a short European tour with the Kooks, which helped expose them to a wider audience. In March 2016, they released the urgent single "Stay with Me," and their eponymous debut album followed in May.