Gold Soundz: Best of May 2025
Highlighting the best music releases from May 2025
Summer is finally here and the month of May has set us up gloriously so we can celebrate the good times and great weather that lies ahead of us. Top notch albums from a wide range of genres dropped this month and no matter the mood, it seemed like there was something for the occasion. Stereolab returned with their first album in fifteen years, Cole Pulice delivered a striking record that balances ambient jazz with shoegaze-like atmospheres, and billy woods reminded us all why he’s the best rapper on the planet. Beyoncé also made her return to the stage with the mind-blowing Cowboy Carter Tour to once again claim her throne as the artist of her generation and an otherworldly talent on a scale like no other. Elsewhere, Pulp leaned into their disco tendencies on their groovy new jam and HAIM found nostalgia in “Take me back,” channeling early aughts indie classics that made for an unexpected, yet wonderful surprise. Clipse finally announced their long-awaited new album and hit us with the icy cold “Ace Trumpets” while Turnstile continued to raise the hype for their highly anticipated new album as well. There was also dreamy shoegaze from Sea Lemon, brooding post-punk from Preoccupations, lo-fi jangle-pop from The Pennys, piano sketches from André 3000, and sparkling disco from Sally Shapiro. As we near the half-way point of 2025, music has proven to be the guiding source of light and positivity, always a reflection of the current times, but also a balm of comfort and gateway to exercising joy.
Album of the Month:
BILLY WOODS | GOLLIWOG
The current streak that billy woods has been on over the past few years is unprecedented. Whether rapping solo or as one-half of Armand Hammer, his unmistakable delivery is an immediately identifiable aspect of his music as is the murky, warped beats over which he lays his meticulous flow. On Golliwog, the latest classic from the best rapper on the planet is almost a greatest hits of beats from some of the best producers in the game, all of whom are giving woods some of their darkest and dankest material for his horror-core wonder. This is a haunting record full of small moments that hit like a horror film packaged between his sinister rhymes. The wordplay and his delivery remain the top components of his work and every listen reveals his dexterity and new lyrics seem to pop up every time you hit play. There are broken jazz beats, hard drum machines, menacing piano lines, and key samples thrown in that help add to the album’s theme. Small details wait to find you until the right moment and then they burrow into your brain before the next barb attaches itself to reveal a new level of brilliance. There isn’t a radio single in the bunch, but there are moments that standout and make you hit rewind to catch the moment again just to make sure it’s really there. On “Corinthians” he calls out the the genocide in Palestine as he raps “Twelve billion USD hovering over the Gaza Strip / You don't wanna know what it cost to live / What it cost to hide behind eyelids” in a direct and forceful manner. His words are never minced and he speaks his own truths even when they display his own vulnerabilities like on “A Doll Fulla Pins” when he raps “fuck all that, I lived in the bus station / N*ggas tried to yap me, I left town, I'm not tough / I came back when nIggas got locked up / I know them n*ggas, n*ggas is dumb.” Bringing out the best to be by his side, Golliwog is another staggering entry in woods’ latest run of phenomenal albums and once again asserts him as the best one doing it.
EP of the Month
THE PENNYS | The Pennys
Channeling bright jangle-pop melodies, The Pennys make blissful tunes that turn melancholic with their lo-fi charm and easy-going jams. There’s heavy reverb vocals that bring forth some surf-rock moments over these homespun tunes all of which are wonderfully crafted and deeply intimate. The home-style recording vibes resonate throughout these quick bursts of lovely guitar music that feels blurred and faded while still fully realized and well composed. The self-described “occult heartbreak pop” band consists of two friends who bring together their love of country and power pop and cover it in a warm fuzz making it all immediately accessible and welcoming. Their soft voices lure you in and the stirring guitar hooks you before the joyful melodies carry you away into an ethereal state of bliss. These sparse yet wholesome songs make for easy listening and can turn any situation into one of pure relaxation as these gently flowing numbers remove any sense of urgency and tension and instead they sprawl out with great comfort, perfect for lounging and and resetting. The unhurried pace and general slowness of the songs allows each one to move with ease, taking their time to make sure each note has room to breathe. There are imperfections throughout the release as things fall slightly out of sync at times and with tape-hiss adding an extra sonic texture to the mix, but it all helps with the overall theme and provides a welcomed breath of fresh air when things often feel so rushed and overwhelming.
Soundtrack of the Month
MOGWAI | The Bombing of Pan-Am 103
On their second release of 2025, Mogwai are back in soundtrack mode for the BBC’s The Bombing of Pan-Am 103. As is typical for a lot of their work scoring films and documentaries, this one is a bit more even-keeled than their usual architecture of the loud-quiet-loud variety and gives us something a bit more consistent in terms of peaks and valleys. This is still Mogwai, however, so the band’s natural stylings of building guitar epics still finds its place in these songs and electronic elements also find their way into the band’s sumptuous grooves. Many fans of post-rock will note how the lush and maximal soundscapes can become perfect scores for everyday life and can make the most mundane moments feel cinematic in scope and when Mogwai step into soundtracks-mode, they nail the assignment. Keeping a more concurrent theme than some of their studio work also helps with the pacing here as the band’s particular focus and attention to detail slowly reveals itself. On the more meditative approach, the band still finds ways to dig into lush grooves and soaring arrangements that bring their core spirit to light which makes this more than just a soundtrack and a worthy entry in their catalogue that holds just as much weight as some of their studio records.
Don’t skip
ANTHONY NAPLES | Scanners
COLE PULICE | Land’s End Eternal
ERIKA DE CASIER | Lifetime
MODEL/ACTRIZ | Pirouette
STEREOLAB | Instant Holograms On Metal Film
Concerts (in review)
KENDRICK LAMAR / SZA at MetLife Stadium // 05.09.25
JAPANESE BREAKFAST at Brooklyn Paramount // 05.10.25
DEAFHEAVEN at Warsaw // 05.15.25
BEYONCÉ at MetLife Stadium // 05.25.25
BLOC PARTY at Forest Hills Stadium // 05.31.25