Musically ambitious but allergic to taking themselves too seriously, Finnish gonzo-kraut-metal cult heroes Circle are a true one-off, especially when it comes to the band’s heroic work rate. These new releases prove Pori’s finest can balance an exhausting release schedule with an impressive strike-rate: Manner ranks with the band’s best produce.

The Money Store is incredible, and if you don’t get you’ll be left in the musical dark ages. David Newbury comes over all fanboy for his album of the year.

Richard James – formerly of Welsh psych-rock heroes Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci – goes all stripped down for solo album number three. It’s a good decision: deceptively simplistic, Pictures in the Morning is a startlingly beautiful set of songs that deserves to be recognised as one of the year’s loveliest releases

White has stuck to her guns with Master of My Make Believe, proving her dedication to music as art as opposed to a money-making gimmick. Exploring a variety of genres, techniques and instruments, her second effort is just as electric, if not better and more intriguing, than Santogold which is a bloody hard target to exceed.

Weighing in at mere 37 minutes and feeling more like an EP, Tiger Talk tries to make up in presence what it lacks in length, with the big draw here being the band’s ability to create sweet, effortless, vibrant and memorable harmonies with the capacity to occupy the song-recall centre of the brain for days.

awE naturalE is thoroughly imbued with these technologies of the sacred: the rich harmonies of gospel and rattling, clattering percussive polyrhtyhms overlaid on the bleeps and bips of Sputnik and IBM; digital samplers become time machines; pitch-shifted vocals erupt in techno-pentecostalism.

Since 2003, Chicago’s Numero Group has unearthed unjustly ignored nuggets from the remotest outposts of the music biz. An exciting exploration of unspeakably rare private presses from an era when burgeoning electronics allowed artists to unleash multi-layered epics without ever bothering another musician, Personal Space maintains – if not surpasses – the label’s impeccable strike rate.

Luke Wyland has got a lot of ideas in his head, and AU is the conduit. Both Lights is the group’s third, and best, record featuring a devastating cameo from Colin Stetson.

While the challenging, somewhat elusive nature of Rhine Gold might not be for everyone, Choir Of Young Believers clearly didn’t play it safe this time round, and in the process have created an intrepid new album that becomes more poignant and edifying with each listen.