There's not enough space here to get into why Sleater-Kinney may be one of the most important bands of 2015, but one thing is clear: they've already delivered a serious contender for one of the year's best records.

The maturation of Bridgers' craft, and influence of her peers, is apparent on Punisher. The songs alternate between tightly wound pop-rock ("Kyoto") and a soft concoction of folk-rock ("Savior Complex") and both sides feel focused and sturdy. Bridgers keeps getting better and Punisher affirms this.

The record can be as self-lacerating as any of Mitski's past works — the skin-tingling bar room swing of "I Don't Like My Mind," with its frenetic binging and sorry purging, is an early gut punch — but it holds a steady, wisened resolve at its core, an acceptance of solitude and ache that sets it apart from the rest of her catalogue.

GLUE will appeal to fans of '90s alternative rock who are looking for more, but will continue to alienate Boston Manor's longtime pop-punk-loving fans.

Why Does the Earth Give Us People to Love? is an album of great substance, one that both rewards and demands close listening.

It's the driving, rock-based tracks like "Recoil" and "Just Dust" that give Life Somewhere Else its energy, as Kilbey matches Cain's chugging-but-ringing guitars with a lust-for-life delivery.

John Lee Hooker couldn't have asked for a better centenary.

With its fresh simplicity, Glory is a blazing return to form for Perfume Genius, who, on his seventh album, has come full circle as a pop star that has never been afraid to emerge as something brand new, familiar, or even as No Shape at all.

Although political in nature, the feel of the record is unabashedly joyful and if Jama ko doesn't form part of your summer listening, you are missing out on something very special.

Dacus brings a sense of wit and sensitivity; Bridgers a quiet melancholy; Baker a raw ferocity. the record combines those individual instincts into a group effort that's compelling in all sorts of ways — and one that's also charmingly (and, in a way, fittingly) imperfect.

There's a distinct old-world Havana big band feel here, filtered through a postmodern lens. Steered by the vocals of Pepito, piano melodies sparkle, brass blare bold and percussive sounds punctuate a overarching vibe of joy.

The grandeur is all-enveloping here; a minor epic built from a surfeit of dissident spirit and Van Halen fanaticism. Don't let Mdou Moctar be the close-kept secret of suburban shamans the world over — this is pure Tuareg delight, palatable for all.

Spaces is in turn haunting, energizing and overwhelmingly emotive, and a must-have for fans of the young German pianist, whether or not they've caught him live yet.

While the Go-Betweens may not be as well known to music fans as the Cure, R.E.M. or the Smiths, this lovingly curated box makes a convincing case that they are more than deserving of being on any list of the greatest rock bands of the 1980s or any other decade.

Clark has made the beautiful ugly, the ugly beautiful and the difference between them nearly indistinguishable. If that sounds pretty complex and incredible, you've got a pretty good idea what listening to St. Vincent is like.

The Dusk in Us is another step forward for Converge, pushing their sound to new levels in a way that is uniquely their own. Although it took five years to come to fruition, the record was well worth the wait, and stands as a testament to why the band have become so hugely influential.

Yet because the beats are so fierce and the flows so varied, there is no slogging through this 39-minute hurricane. It's been a minute, but RTJ have reminded us that, yes, rap music can be fun and opinionated simultaneously.

Repeated listens reveal a deeply nuanced record that deals with grief and confusion the only way Robyn knows how--by dancing like nobody's looking.

Kiwanuka is therapeutic for all parties involved. It's honest, psychedelic, enlightening and recalls blackness defined by acoustic folk and the organic soul of past artists like Gil Scott-Heron, Bobby Womack and Otis Redding.

That! Feels Good! is unapologetic in its pop sensibilities, full of hooks that lightly tease and lyrics that keep themselves around. Ware's airy yet soulful delivery of these words, coos and moans is part of what makes her so captivating, and acts as a direct line to how much fun she's having.

No Joy sounds far more artful and ambitious than anyone would have expected from this band a few years ago.

Rat Saw God is wildly ambitious and easily lives up to the industry hype — Wednesday have succeeded once again in twisting nostalgia and existential dread into a braid of bruising, life-affirming rock music.

LEGACY! LEGACY! is a complex and near-flawless reworking of genre--"I am not your typical girl," as Woods notes on "Betty"--as the singer-songwriter evolves her art, thought and reason for being.

Their traditional characteristics and intellectual concepts, incorporated with new elements and ideas, make Apex Predator - Easy Meat another impressive addition to Napalm Death's spotless catalogue.

The New York rapper-producer's greatest contribution to RTJ4 is his vivid and varied sonic backdrops. His on-point production offers the lyrically superior Killer Mike both space and sonic support as he rises to new heights of artistry and activism, making El-P the kind of ally worth emulating.

Although there are outliers (particularly "Final Rescue Attempt" and "Conversion"), for the most part, the album revels in its own straightforwardness, and the band makes it sound effortless.

Geese build up to the album's conclusion: a charged and accelerating train ride, 16 stops from Brooklyn into the darkest parts of "Long Island City Here I Come," Winter issuing poetic threats that crosswire Bob Dylan and Van Morrison into a barroom bible-mishmash scored by screaming guitars. It's a thrilling exit point, full of ecstasy and menace, but it still feels a little like dress-up rather than lived-in.

To say Black Origami is an album that grows on you with each listen is correct, but undermines the energy you feel upon the album's first listen. It's earthy and futuristic, complex and linear, dance-y and a total mind-fuck.