The latest release from Kip Uhlhorn and Simon Wojan's Cloudland Canyon is far too brief which means that each precious moment on this CD is cherished more than ever. The two pieces on this EP are astounding; both are slowly evolving epics with a heavy hint of Krautrock under a very modern sheen. The end result can only be described as cosmic.

Throughout the history of life, humans are faced with the mortality of our parents, it's simply natural that we outlive our parents if everything goes normally. However, I can't think of anybody who is or was quite ready to deal with the life altering effects that extreme illness (an aggressive "terminal" cancer) has on everybody close. After weeks of dealing on a daily basis with medical uncertainty, insane drug side effects, mental instability, and a "care" system which ejects patients prematurely from necessary hospitalization, I finally had a window of opportunity for a break, and Tiny Mirrors will live forever in my memory for the soundtrack for that weekend.

It is a long time since I have heard Vic Chesnutt, first becoming aware of him like I would expect many people my age did by way of a tribute album in the mid-90s bought on the strength of the artists covering him. That this is his 11th album is a big surprise and listening to it I lament not giving him the attention he obviously deserves previously. This album is filled with tender, witty, funny and heart wrenching moments of lyrical clarity.

As dub techno continues its vibrant resurgence, there have been few releases in electronic music more anticipated in 2007 than this one. Having already achieved significant attention with Andy Stott's critically acclaimed Merciless and its accompanying singles, Modern Love, a recording arm of the magnificent online shop Boomkat, will only see its stock rise (or perhaps, in inventory terms, fall) with this release.

This one-man noise project opts to not lean on the more "rock" elements of some of his contemporaries such as Wolf Eyes and instead goes for an early industrial and vaguely krautrock vibe that sets this disc apart from others in the genre.

Writing brief and delicate music at a time when epic bombast was the norm, Satie's compositions would go on to become some of the most influential of the 20th century. This disc presents some of his best-known work as well as a few pieces that are less frequently heard but no less enthralling.

Writing brief and delicate music at a time when epic bombast was the norm, Satie's compositions would go on to become some of the most influential of the 20th century. This disc presents some of his best-known work as well as a few pieces that are less frequently heard but no less enthralling.

Portland-based artist Daniel Menche deconstructs the organ and trumpet on this latest album, yet little of the resulting work reflects these instruments in obvious ways. Instead, these four tracks sound like mechanical insects mating with pink noise and then giving birth to an apocalyptic swarm.

Another installment in the label's "Arc" series, the debut release from this NY based artist is a study in bedroom recording, a simple and lo-fi, yet captivating work of experimentation.

Zero have made an odd, joyful and coherent debut, despite lurching from post-rock tension to whimsical melody, covering Devo, and borrowing vocal styles from at least two eccentric Englishmen.

It may have taken a few years longer than hoped, but that other Cornish madman has at last perfected the formula he has relentlessly toiled over with this batch of infectiously quirky acid-blasted instant classics.  The chronic unevenness that hindered many of his releases this century is noticeably absent from this gooey mix of "grown folks" electronica.

David P. Madson continues his explorations in musical collage with this dense mix of chance sounds, "real" instruments such as Dee Kesler's guitar, samples, and the voices of such guests as Jessica Bailiff and TV on the Radio's Tunde Adebimpe.

This recording of a partial Wolf Eyes reunion line-up, ex member Aaron Dilloway joining Nate Young and Steve Kenney's Demonic duo, shows that chemistry doesn't ever dissipate. Using synths more as manglers of notes rather than creators or melodies, this 2007 show sees a swollen Demons absorb Dilloway into their mass like they were The Blob back in 1958.

This is the least modern sounding new release of the year. Rick Tomlinson's Voice of the Seven Woods creates druggy, foreign sounding psychedelica that sounds like it was performed 30 years ago in some unknown, possibly mythical, land. The ten pieces exemplify all that is good about the guitar and all that is holy about music.

Robert Pollard's Circus Devils are back with their fifth album and I cannot say it does much for me. There is some solid rock on this disc but ham-fisted lyrics and a few too many guitar clichés make the album tough to listen to more than a couple of times. For every good piece of music there is a set of accompanying lyrics that completely alienate the listener. I have a strong sense that more thought was put into making incomprehensible lyrics than making fully-formed songs in any shape or form.

Alongside D'arcangelo's recent Eksel, this eagerly awaited new album from the well-regarded producer has rekindled my appreciation and even my passion for chin-scratching, toe-tapping IDM.

A cross-generational collaboration between these two giants of the world of esoteric sound manifests itself exactly as would be imagined, and for the listener who is willing to give it the close attention it requires, there are great rewards.

The murky artwork of this disc is a perfect metaphor for the contents, it is a hazy miasma of lo-fi electronic distortion, random sounds, hidden organic instrumentation, and bleak noisescapes.

This album was a hard one to get, but when I did, I was blown away. It is dense and flowery: a striking transistion from Caribou's earlier style, but still definitley sounds like Caribou. Andorra is a big move forward for Dan Snaith.

A full year after the release of Melody Mountain, a holistically flawed but nonetheless bewitching covers record, this entrancing chanteuse apprehensively steps a little closer to the spotlight's glare with this consummate work of understated, rare beauty.