“Don’t Speak” – a powerful, anthemic debut album full of fast, catchy alt-rock – finds Culture Wars moving into a high-octane, arena-ready sound. The record follows a breakout year in which the Texas-based, LA-based band opened for Maroon 5, Keane, Wallows and Lenny, gaining international audiences and a reputation for energetic, engaging live performances. Originally put out with a different title and tracklist, “Don’t Speak” is an album reshaped by the band’s experiences on tour. Guitarist and producer Caleb Contreras said that the band reworked important parts after performing the material live, while lead singer Alex Dugan described the tour as a testing ground for new ideas.
Dugan said, “When we sat down to put together the initial setlist, it was clear that we didn’t want to work on the second half of the album.” “And when we were playing live, we saw what didn’t land.” “There was a moment when we just got off the stage,” Contreras said. “I remember Alex and I looked at each other and we were like, ‘No, we have to write more songs. We’re not done yet.'”
According to Dugan, advice from other bands reinforced the idea. “Maroon 5 was talking to us and they were like, ‘We saw our first album for three years,'” Dugan said. “And we were like, ‘Yeah, okay, fuck it. We really need to do something now, because I don’t want to tour some of these songs for three years.'”
Culture Wars describe themselves as a band in a constant state of evolution. Since the release of their debut EP in 2021, the band has spent years authentically and fully realizing their sound. “In the production process, too much of the techa was synthesized,” Contreras said. “But working on the new album, I began to realize that these songs were resistant to being overly produced. The songs themselves wanted to be as organic as possible.” Dugan said, “The band has evolved since then and a lot of things have changed.” “We’ve become more intentional about how we make songs.”
This purposeful approach extends to every element of the album, from lyrics to production. “The thing about this band is that we’re very DIY,” Contreras said. “I mixed the record. I produced the record. We wrote it together. We’re really an in-house unit. It really makes the album feel like a cohesive world.”
Dugan said, “David (the band’s drummer) and Caleb would sit there and work for god knows how long on a snare sound that no one else would tolerate.” “It enabled us to be very specific and intentional about every little thing in a very good way. It’s very much a DIY ethos, and I don’t know if our sound would exist if we did it any other way.”
The result is a focused, high-impact record that balances clean, polished production with a raw, alternative sound – with Dugan pushing his vocal range higher than ever, he admits that some songs make “pain to sing”. A breakout hit is “Specific Ways”, a high-energy cut that Dugan describes as “an angry letter to my former self”. Her soaring vocals also shine on “Heaven”, a brighter, more melodic pop-rock track, and “Slowly”, a sad indie-rock contemplation after a breakup. Other highlights include “Bittersweet”, a song full of emotional contradictions driven by infectious riffs and effortless vocals; “In the Morning,” a vulnerable, introspective alt-rock cut; and “Miley,” a heavy groove. The record also features “Lies” – a track originally released on the previous EP, which has now been reworked to reflect the band’s growth. “We didn’t do it right the first time,” Dugan said. “I just thought, we’ve gotten so much better at recording and being a band, why don’t we try to do this song, but with the way we’re working right now? In my opinion, that song is really worth keeping.”
From the 2000s nostalgia-tinged “It Hurts” and “Wasting My Time” to the dreamy, indie-rock “(Tokyo)” and “Cortisol, It’s What’s Always On Your Mind” to the resonant title track “Don’t Speak”, Culture Wars’ latest album creates a cohesive and dynamic alt-rock catalog that allows the band to step into their full power. The record is practically made for larger stages, with songs being tested, refined in front of crowds, and shaped by audience reaction.
“The reception to the album has been great,” Dugan said. “But it’s interesting because we rewrote the record partially based on audience reaction, so the reaction created the album. It’s this weird, cool, symbiotic call and response.”
Now, Culture Wars are preparing for their next chapter: an international headlining tour starting in 2026. Contreras said, “This will be our first tour of this size where it’s all of us, and it’s all people who know the lyrics and jam out to the music.” “And our heart and soul are totally into it, so when people fuck with it, they’re essentially fucking with us. And that’s a new thing that will be cool to experience.”
“We’ve hopefully gone from not wanting to mess with anyone to maybe having a career. This is brand new,” Dugan said. “David, our drummer, still thinks it’s not real.”
