One to watch: Cruza

R&B has been on an exciting journey in recent years. Eschewing the genre’s usual bedroom jams and yearning falsettos, independent artists such as James Tillman and Yaya Bey have combined eerie atmospherics, lo-fi instrumentals and sultry lyricism to create something altogether darker and more mysterious. The Florida-based group Cruza is the latest act to add to this R&B experimentalism. Formed in 2020 after two childhood friends, vocalist Adam Kain and bassist AJ Roth, joined forces with guitarist Charity Joy Brown and drummer Sago, the band honed a distinct blend of woozy guitar sounds and lackadaisical vocals to produce a downtempo psychedelia.

Their self-released 2020 debut album, Cult Research, and 2021 independent follow-up, Dog Daze, helped establish their knack for spacious, earworming arrangements. But it is with the release of their first record with pioneering hip-hop label Def Jam, Cruzafied, that the band find themselves on the precipice of going global. From the wistful, Frank Ocean-referencing melodies of opener Been Astral to the sensuous groove of Creep and the uptempo bounce of Supa Anxious, each anchored in Kain’s half-whispered delivery, Cruza create an effortlessly beguiling sound. “We were skateboarding and wearing skinny jeans back at a time when it was not popular for people who looked like us,” Roth told Masquerade Atlanta. “We were always in a middle space so it’s kind of funny that our music falls into that hybrid place.” Between R&B and psychedelia, hip-hop and soul, Cruza are crafting a fresh and engaging sound.

• Cruzafield is out now. Cruza play London on 7 and 8 October