The first time I saw this band live at Reading Festival still goes down in my books as one of the best live performances I've ever seen. The raw energy that they put into their shows, at the time, went unmatched by a large proportion of other UK bands. Punching in at number 14 is Marmozets with Knowing What You Know Now.

After their debut album made its way to my number one spot in 2014, you can imagine how excited I was for this follow up album. Lead singer Becca has previously described this as her 'fighting album', giving her strength when things in life aren't going so well. Anthemic hits like "Run With The Rhythm", ooze encouragement and a feeling of determination, but it's the subtle notes of 'pushing forward' and 'being brave' coming through amidst the more angsty lyrics, that carry the most weight.

My favourite tracks on the album for me are "Play", "Meant To Be", "Major System Error", "Lost In Translation", and "Start Again". I first listened to this album whilst I was making my way around Melbourne in January and it stuck out like a sore thumb in my music library at the time. Since then it's continued to stand out but for all of the right reasons. Becca's ability to bring riot grrrl vocals in over Math Rock beats, and control her voice with a level of emotion that's almost performative is excellent.

As well as being an album with pure fight and grit in it, Knowing What You Know Now clearly shows the growth and development that Marmozets have gone through since their debut, not only as a band but also as individuals. This is some of the most mature and calculated material they've put out to date and I cannot wait to hear what's around the corner.

Have a look at the album that made its way to my number 14 spot last year here.

After their last record Blood & Chemistry I feel like I've been waiting for a follow up from them for an age. I actually even wrote about them in my 2015 Album Wishlist, but they say that you can't rush greatness. So finally, in 2017 we have been blessed with my 16th favourite album of the year - Melancholia Hymns by Arcane Roots. It was more than worth the wait.

I must admit it was a little bit of a slow build for me on this one. I definitely liked it on first listen, however most of the non singles took me a minute to get into. Especially the more anthemic songs like "Indigo", being the type of song that I don't regularly listen to. Although, after a while those very same songs ended up growing into my favourites on the entire album.

The biggest stand-outs for me on this record at the moment are "Solemn", "Curtains", "Everything (All At Once)" and "Indigo". "Curtains" came out as the lead single last year and I played it to death; I actually had to give it a breather before the album came out and hearing it again after a while, in the context of the album, only made it shine brighter for the gem of a song that it is. The transitions are wild, the sort of levels that made me fall in love with their music in the first place. 


Arcane Roots truly have their own sound and this record shows that even more clearly than the rest of their material. They've tapped into more sonic synth sounds and really honed in their take on anthemic songs, all the while staying true to their heavier math rock roots throughout. I really couldn't have asked for more on this, it almost makes me feel bad for rushing them because evidently good things come to those who wait.