Jeremy McDonagh

Recomposed: Music, Climate, Crisis, Change Verso From protest songs to charity concerts to celebrity political endorsements on social media, pop music has long sustained its cultural legitimacy through engagement with political causes. Yet mixed results have also revealed the limits of music’s ability to shape the world outside its immediate sphere. Is music genuinely interacting with the world, or do its most profound experiences derive from emotional escapism?

Croz Boyce is the newest offshoot of the indie rock institution Animal Collective, featuring Avey Tare (Dave Portner) on guitar and Geologist (Brian Weitz) on electronics, as well as David “Croz” Crosby in spirit. When I think of David Crosby, I think of the hushed reverence of his signature song “Guinnevere”, his ragged intensity on Neil Young’s “Ohio”, and, less flatteringly, his reputedly abrasive character. None of those associations quite prepares you for the self-titled album Croz Boyce.

British electronic collective Seefeel reappeared after a 13-year hiatus with two mini-albums in 2024 and now present Sol.hz, their first full-length release since the 2011 self-titled LP. The group’s claim to notoriety is as one of the first guitar-based groups signed to the fabled British electronic label Warp, with their 1995 sophomore album Succour.