Ponder Your 2020 Time Capsule on Bandcamp Friday

If one were to put together a time capsule of new music that captures the uncharted weirdness and darkness of the current moment, something by NNAMDÏ belongs in there. The Nigerian-American, Chicago-residing musician born Nnamdi Ogbonnaya has had three releases (and counting) so far in 2020, and they’re all wildly different. Where the cross-genre tapestry BRAT and Zappa-esque Krazy Karl showcased the crooner-rapper-shredder-drummer’s unique skill set and boundless will to create, Black Plight is NNAMDÏ at his most direct. Recorded and released in June at the height of the Black Lives Matter protests stemming from the killing of George Floyd, the three-song EP distills the simmering rage of a nation into a riff-tastic funk-punk-prog-emo hybrid (think Minutemen meets At the Drive-In) that doesn’t mince words about race and policing in America. It turns protest chants (like “Fuck 12” and “I can’t breathe”) into hooks that stick long past the EP’s breakneck eight-minute runtime. For something mellower but still unique to this moment in history, try ODD CURE from D.C.-area hip-hop artist Oddisee. Recorded under lockdown in the spring, ODD CURE seamlessly blends chilled-out, soulful sounds and cautious-but-hopeful lyrics with actual recordings of phone conversations with loved ones and colleagues about the virus. Also in the time capsule: Saving for a Custom Van, a tribute to champion power-pop songsmith Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne, whose sudden death April 1 from COVID-19 complications was shocking, devastating and maddening. The 36-track compilation — a benefit for nonprofit group MusiCares’ coronavirus relief fund — features Schlesinger’s Gen-X peers like Nada Surf and Ted Leo alongside millennial acolytes including Bree McKenna of Tacocat and Sadie Dupuis from Speedy Ortiz. But whoever’s music has been sustaining you during this time, kick them some dough on Bandcamp Friday, Aug. 7 — the now-monthly tradition during which, for 24 hours, the music-streaming site waives its 10-15 percent cut of all artists’ sales. CHARLIE ZAILLIAN