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Pond Hoppers: Seven British breakout acts primed for an American uprising

Rat Boy Press

It’s no secret that our cousins across the pond have an impressively long record of taking America by storm, especially in the game of music. When the first wave of Brits broke into the US charts in the '60s, the floodgates had opened: The Beatles. The Rolling Stones. Dusty Springfield. The Kinks. The Animals. It was a wake-up call, a sudden realization of all the good tunes American airwaves had been missing out on. Since then, a stream of British artists have shown their creative and musical prowess by leaving their stamp on American popular music.

In the '90s, the Britpop movement furthered the appeal, longevity, and dominance of British culture. It showcased the diversity and individuality that UK artists had to offer the world of music. But before many of these acts ever really broke on American soil, they grew their audience back home, crafting their art and finding their footing in clubs and concert halls across Britain. Pretty soon another wave of the British Invasion will return in full force, and here are just a few of the acts folks should be on the look-out for.

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The Amazons

Bruising guitar riffs and a bombastic stadium rock quality make The Amazons a powerhouse band with all the intentions of sticking around for a while. Led by frontman Matt Thompson, the band is comprised of guitarist Chris Alderton, bassist Elliot Briggs, and drummer Joe Emmett. Originally formed in Reading, The Amazons gigged around a bit playing stuffy clubs and random dance festivals with bad sound systems before really making any headway in the music scene. Their sound is grounded in the heftier and darker side of rock, drawing inspiration from the likes of Queens of the Stone Age, Royal Blood, and Rage Against The Machine. In May, the band released their self-titled debut album, a collection of songs showing off their signature heavy melodic rock with a surprise piano ballad as a gentle closer.

Listen to “Black Magic” below…

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