Looking outward after last year's Heima/Hvarf-Heim homecoming, much of ...Endalaust was recorded with Flood (U2/Smashing Pumpkins/PJ Harvey) around the world, with sessions taking place not only in Reykjavik but also New York, London and Havana. Wondrous trojan-horse leadoff "Gobbledigook" jams its foot in the door forcefully, and three minutes of tribal acoustic glossolalia rushes in; the rest of the record might come off as one big comedown to those piqued by such immediate odd-pop heights, but the meat of Med Sud... could also be seen as the sort of slowburn narcosis they do best.

Like all proper instances of zeitgeist it's doubtlessly happenstance, but still it's timely to find Tape's newest released just one month after Portishead's, as these Swedes' airy instrumentals, long comparable to Gastr del Sol's use of guitars, keyboards and slight electronic treatments, also now share much of Third's paranoid-but-pastoral mood. Skip straight to "Fingers"' reedy organ, speedily stumbling over a lower-register three-chord cycle and soon to be joined in its race by brushed snare and snaking Tortoise-like vibes and electric guitar. Relaxing yet unsettling art-pop, and their least obtuse set yet.

Another slim, murky-green, 4-song stopgap EP like Prospect Hummer from AC's FatCat years, Avey Tare's vocals dominate even more than on last year's Strawberry Jam, singing lead on every tune. The title track zips past in hyperactive waltz time, its sampled cutups and crammed melody the closest thing here to Jam, while the rest of the sequence loosens up and cools down with rhythmic guitar delays on "Street Flash", the quasi-Indo "Cobwebs" luring the listener "out in the night", and ambient gurgles with piano that plays out like one of Tare and Kria Brekkan's side-project cuts for finale "Seal Eyeing".

As soon as the first twelve tracks of untitled feedback zip past, putting the band's evasive and mutinous side on literal display while the numbers jump ship every few seconds, Mt. Zion lay into the listener with zeal, the battle lines drawn between them and all "ye twits across thy internet" (hey, that smarts!). Granted, at one LP side per 10-minute-plus tune, these dirgy screeds demand pre-mp3-era commitment, culminating halfway with the second section of the title track, a 9/8 vamp that gathers momentum in a most righteous Ex-like manner. Comes with a "hymn book" so fans can join Efrim & co. in the gospel.

Few bands have been as continually associated with their homeland's geography as Iceland's Sigur Ros. The band's entire catalogue plays as a sort of audio language for the blind to describe the island's untouched landscape of creeping glaciers, thermal hot springs, dormant volcanos, sunlight summers and ink-black winters. So no one can feign surprise at the success of this marriage of homecoming concerts by the band and pristine footage of the country. After an album, Takk, that wasn't so much a failure as it was more of the same by a great band, watching Heima quickly reminds us of what makes Sigur Ros so special.

Like many experimental indie noisemakers--the many projects of Toronto's own Aidan Baker come to mind here--Adam Forkner's White Rainbow began with a series of CD-R releases. After 2006's 5CD/1DVD Box compilation, he has gone on to release three CDs in 2007. Prism of Eternal Now, however, is his first one with respected label Kranky. This Chicago label is the perfect home for Forkner's music, a mixture of electronics, drum circles, chants, psych pop and primal noise manipulation. Constantly evolving music that's a late contender for one of the better experimental titles of the year.

As one-third of Les Mouches, Matthew Smith joined drummer Rob Gordon and Owen "Final Fantasy" Pallett in making noise-folk songs that teetered between cascading abrasion and soothing caress. Smith's solo work as Nifty is equally diverse but uses very different elements. Pulling from the worlds of African percussion, grimy electro-soul, patchy big band horn blasts and overlapping instrumental layers, A Sparrow! A Sparrow! is possessed with sonic wanderlust. His instincts rarely steer him wrong, creating the sort of album which becomes more memorable and intriguing the less you try to pin it down.

Following Yellow House--one of 2006's most enduring releases--and well over a year's worth of touring, the Friend EP arrives to fill Grizzly Bear's studio gap. A collection of covers (both by them of others and others of them), remixes, and new tunes, this EP is naturally a little hit-and-miss. Still, the highlights are a stellar rendering of their rich sound; equally indebted to both ambient/electronic sensibilities and the classic sounds of doo-wop and Phil Spector. Their cover of "She Hit Me (And It Felt Like a Kiss)" is a revelation, while a cutting run through Yellow House standout "Little Brother" is a feast of ever-evolving energy.

Interesting what a few years can change in how you listen to a band. In 2000, import copies of Sigur Ros' Agaetis Byrjun were sought after like the Holy Grail. Now that we've grown used to the group's key sonics—omnious bowed guitars, steady crescendos, and a craning falsetto—their later discs have felt a bit rote. This double EP seeks, successfully at times, to rejuvenate their catalog. Hvarf is a electric recasting of past tunes and live faves, while the more interesting Heim uses an acoustic setting to make a case for strong writing underneath all those effects. Essential? No, but it is very beautiful.

Wyatt's ability to walk a very thin line between timeless pop and artful divergence is a masterful gift; one made more spectacular by his unassuming way with that gift. This music shrugs its shoulders and finds the quiet corner in the room. It takes a certain amount of initiative to even get a conversation going, and once you begin talking, things don't come easily either. As its title suggests, Comicopera balances in close proximity images of humour and touching commitment with plainly brutal isolation. You can't often truly call an album brave and beautiful, but that's a distinction this record earns.

When a band member has already made one of the year's defining releases (Panda Bear's breakout Person Pitch), you know the bar is set high. So it's with great pleasure/relief that we can confirm that Strawberry Jam is a great record: wildly accessible, yet fiercely loyal to the group's spirit of noise and chaos. New fans of Panda Bear's soaring Beach Boy-isms may take a spell to appreciate Avey Tare's coo-to-a-scream vocal style, but this juxtaposition is only one of the things that makes Jam so thrilling. Bookended by two exceptional albums, 2007 is Animal's Collective's year.

Offering up a killer, just-under-the-radar platter of non-sequitor indie rock, No Age are an L.A. duo (plus friends) making exactly the kind of record you'd expect (and hope for) in 2007. This means Weirdo Rippers covers walls of white noise, floating clouds of ethereal drift, geeky Sebadoh-esque trash-pop, and all points in between. These musical wanderings stay connected by the home-baked, tossed off charm of it all. To be sure, these recordings were well-considered, thoughtfully planned, and executed to an exacting standard. It just doesn't really sound like it.

This Icelandic quartet gained quiet fame as the string players on albums by fellow countrymen Sigur Ros. Despite a long history with that group, Amiina had up until now only released a pair of EPs. Their debut full-length, Kurr, proves to be worth the wait. This album draws from a palette wider than that of your typical string quartet. In fact, the strings rarely assert themselves; the most obvious voices here are that of bells, water-drop keys, flute, horns, singing saw and classical guitar. The result is an ambient instrumental record which sits bewitchingly between eras: both modern and ancient.

Say hi to the new prog-rock! Boasting members whose alma maters include such 90s experi-metal luminaries as Don Cabellero and Helmet, Mirrored is a full-length debut whose sound finds four players woven into each other's fabric with the most careful precision. Despite the premium paid toward virtuosity and exact electronics, Mirrored is highly playful and unpredicatble. Complex and polyrhythmic but still catchy, it may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it rains like manna from heaven on those who can't stomach yet another introspective singer-songwriter.