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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.