The Crosseyed Turn Betrayal Into Raw, Swaggering Rock on "Voodoo"

American alt-rock band The Crosseyed dig into betrayal and broken trust on “Voodoo,” a raw, swaggering new single that brings old-school funk into collision with the weight and drive of classic rock. Recorded live at Mission Sound in Brooklyn with renowned bassist Adam Dorn (Mocean Worker), legendary session drummer Steven Wolf, and guitar player extraordinaire Marc Copely, the track channels Sly and the Family Stone, Led Zeppelin, and The Rolling Stones into a groove-heavy reckoning with discovering someone’s true colours.

For The Crosseyed’s founder Jeff Malkin, “Voodoo” was inspired by someone he trusted wholeheartedly – a person who regularly preached the importance of doing right by others, only to abandon those principles when circumstances became difficult.

“I was shocked and realized he wasn’t the person I believed him to be,” Malkin says. “The song is about once crossing that line to the darkness, there’s no coming back.”

Hence “Voodoo” – or, as Malkin jokes, the slightly more cumbersome alternative: “There Ain’t No Coming Back From the Voodoo That You Do.”

Listen to “Voodoo,” produced by Mario McNulty, HERE.

Malkin keeps that confrontation deliberately direct. A believer in Berry Gordy’s “don’t bore us, get to the chorus” philosophy, he approaches lyrics with a similar economy, aiming to tell the story or deliver the message with as few words as possible.

The song’s musical foundation began during the recording of The Crosseyed’s second album in New York City in 2025, when Dorn stopped by the studio to visit his longtime childhood friend Wolf. After hearing the band, Dorn approached Malkin about collaborating, prompting him to write “Voodoo,” particularly its chorus riff, with the bassist’s funk and jazz background in mind.

One final ingredient arrived after The Crosseyed debuted “Voodoo” live. Ramona Dunlap’s vocals made such an impression that the band brought her into the studio several weeks later, adding a fiery “Gimme Shelter”-era Rolling Stones dimension to the recording. The result is a collision of funk-driven rhythm, classic-rock muscle, and live energy that matches the song’s uncompromising message.

• LISTEN TO SHARE “VOODOO” HERE •

The Crosseyed was founded by Jeff Malkin in 2023 alongside a rotating cast of accomplished musicians including Steven Wolf, Russ Irwin, Richard Hammond, Marc Copely, Brian Delaney, Rob Clores, and Ramona Dunlap. Blending British, indie, and Southern rock influences, the group pairs energetic musicianship with sharp, economical songwriting and a willingness to move between styles.

Their 2024 debut album, Born in the Bowery, introduced the band with the opiate-charged “Dope Fiend Love Machine” and a funked-up interpretation of “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked.” They expanded that palette with 2025’s Jeff’s Got Your Number, featuring “Hang Me Out to Dry,” “Slippin’ Away,” and a cover of Radiohead’s “Bodysnatchers” alongside Sophia Ramos.

The Crosseyed are heading deeper into heavier and darker terrain without abandoning the grooves and hooks at the heart of the project. “Voodoo” sets that direction in motion with a simple warning: once someone shows you who they really are, there may be no going back.