Explorative and expressive, Cruza are the US four-piece making genre-convergence look easy. Indefinable and indelible, the group have built a cult following over the past few years with a sound that is beguiling and atmospheric, full of cinematic and intricate musicality.

The band have just shared their highly-anticipated new album Cruzafied. Adding depth both lyrically and sonically to their earlier discography, the new work is mature and meticulous, with the band’s signature psych-tinged grooves more assured than ever. It’s a highly commendable record, and one that will solidify Cruza’s reputation as one of the most unique and exciting bands coming out of the US right now. They’ll also be taking the record on tour in Europe in the autumn, including shows in London, Paris and Berlin.

We were keen to find out more about the album, so asked the band to break down the project for Wonderland – track-by-track.

Listen to Cruzafied…

“Been Astral”
As a band, we collectively went through a lot while working on the album for the past two years – that came with as many highs as it did lows. Being the last song to be finished for the album, the monologue on the opening track “Been Astral” is essentially a representation of us speaking to how naive and unaware we were at the beginning of making the album. 

“First Time”
This track is about the universal feeling of chasing that “high” you get from those early days of falling in love with someone and how you wish you could turn back time to relive those pure early moments endlessly. 

“Such Is Love”
“Could it be, you’re that perfect part of me I just can’t see? A distant star amongst the clouds that I can’t reach”. this track continues the narrative of reflecting on love found and love lost. Specifically, that moment of clarity you get once it hits you that your life was so much better with someone than without – but they’ve moved on. 

“Creep”
In terms of subject matter, this is probably the most direct and raw track on the album. “Creep” was made at the beginning of this year while I was staying at Sago’s (our guitarist/producer/writer) house in Woodland Hills for a couple of week’s re-recording vocals for the album. If I’m being honest, the song wasn’t apart of the original track list and we really didn’t put much intention into writing this one. It kinda just came together quickly and just felt effortless and refreshing to make. I’ve learned it’s sometimes okay to just let the songs write themselves. 

“Lover’s Rock”
The inspiration behind this one is actually pretty funny. I guess a bit ago Aj (our bassist / producer) had his mom and aunts from Guyana come to visit our apartment in Orlando, FL and I guess they started listening to our music, and one of his aunts described our sound as “That Young People Lover’s Rock” and we just thought that was a funny and somewhat accurate description of our sound, so it stuck. 

“Patience”
This one was written in 2022 after we had just got back to LA from playing our first festival in Brooklyn and taking a random trip to San Fran. I remember feeling kinda overwhelmed after traveling so much and making connections with  different people — not knowing what to make of some of the feelings that came with it. This song specifically speaks to being in a place where you want to take things further with someone but you know you’re not ready to commit. All you can do is hope they’ll understand and be patient enough to wait for you. 

“One Day I’ll Float Away”
You know how as a parent you’re not supposed to have a favourite kid but you probably secretly do anyway? Well that’s what “one day i’ll float away” is to me. This song was written in a little room in a huge house in Malibu while Charity (our guitarist) Aj, and myself were working with Smino on his Luv 4 Rent album. It was interesting because we had never worked on music professionally before. Although we were in such a huge unfamiliar space, we were able to find a sense of comfort and familiarity in that small room. Shout out to Smino. 

“On Fye”
This song specifically reminds me of the way we used to make a lot of our old music. Before we formed as an official band with live instrumentation, Aj would just turn on different beats he made and I would freestyle to em and if it made even a bit of sense we knew it had the potential to be a song. “On Fye” was no exception, this one naturally just came together with a good melody and was more of a feeling than a concept. 

“Supa Anxious”
There’s a line in the song that says “You’re only here for my downfall”. “Supa Anxious” is about a past relationship I had where I knew we were both terrible for each other, but we found so much pleasure in doing all the wrong things together. That eventually lead us to some pretty low points. I don’t recommend getting into relationships like that, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a fun time… just not the kind of fun that leads to the best outcome. 

“Veronica”
This song is about wanting to be with someone and hoping they’ll notice you and take you seriously enough to want to give you a chance. 

“Dragonfly”
“Tryna figure out what’s right for me wasted too much time in a fantasy”. “Dragonfly” is about reaching a point of honesty and vulnerability where you realise that you’ve spent a lot of time looking for love and acceptance in the wrong situations, and now you’re faced with the discomfort of feeling unlovable. 

“Horoscope”
While living in LA and working on the album I met this actress who was the real spiritual type you know. She introduced me to Florida water and read my birth chart and all those things.  I just found her to be a fascinating and calming individual. One day before she left town to work on a film, she gifted me a handmade journal to document how I was feeling daily while working on this album and that experience lead to me writing this song about her.

“Cosmic Plea”
As the last song on the album “Cosmic Plea” is probably the most honest expression of vulnerability, as it’s written from the perspective of my younger self pleading for the understanding of so many things from loneliness, to religion, and the struggles of constantly feeling misunderstood. We don’t view this album as a perfect body of work by any means – but it’s an honest documentation of our journey over the past couple of years expressed in many different ways.