I have to admit, I didn’t know a lot about Dexter and the Moonrocks before I saw them at rocknite during CMA Fest this summer. But then I saw them.
The Texas band took the stage before Cage the Elephant, and somewhere between the guitars, the energy and the complete inability to put them neatly into one musical box, I became a fan.
So when I saw that the Dexter and the Moonrocks’ debut album is officially on the way, I was pretty excited. Dexter and the Moonrocks will release their first full-length album, Friends That I Don’t Like, on Oct. 2 via Severance Records/Big Loud Rock. The announcement comes alongside a brand-new single, “It’s A Lot,” which gives us another taste of what’s coming.
And if you’ve heard Dexter and the Moonrocks, you probably already know that trying to describe exactly what they sound like can get a little complicated. Rock? Country? Southern rock? Something else entirely? I think that’s part of their charm.
“For a long time, people have been struggling to place us as a band,” said drummer Fox. “Coming up in the Texas music scene came with its own expectations and stigma. We always seemed to piss off the honky tonkers and underwhelm the old school metal heads, and to be quite frank, we never cared. People kept telling us we had to lean one way or the other, or else no one would ever care. This album feels like a culmination of us tuning out all the bullsh*t and just being the four blue-collar rockers from small-town Texas that we always were. This album feels like an ode to everything we love about our upbringing and everything we wanted to change when we were young. We couldn’t be prouder of the work we’ve put in, and our ability to stay ourselves. I couldn’t tell you what Dexter And The Moonrocks means. Are we country, grunge, alt rock, southern rock? Honestly, who cares. All I know is that we’re here and we aren’t going anywhere.”
Friends That I Don’t Like leans into the band’s rock side, with guitar-heavy melodies, driving rhythms and the kind of raw energy that made so much sense when I saw them live at rocknite.
The album will also include previously released songs “If You Could Talk,” “12 Steps” featuring Treaty Oak Revival, and “Freakin’ Out,” the latter of which recently earned an official RIAA Platinum Certification.
The new single “It’s A Lot” kicks things off with a pretty immediate guitar riff before diving into the feeling of being overwhelmed, emotionally worn down and reaching the point where, well, it’s a lot.
Guitarist Ryan Anderson says the song can mean whatever the listener needs it to mean, but for him, it reflects the whirlwind the band has experienced over the past year.
“‘It’s A Lot’ is about whatever the listener needs it to be about as always, but to me it hits on what has happened over the past year,” said guitarist Ryan Anderson. “The effort put forward to make the most of a life-changing moment, though worth it, brings all brand new challenges. We couldn’t be more thankful for where we are now, but to four kids from small town Texas, sometimes it can be a lot.”
There’s something especially interesting about hearing that perspective now, considering just how quickly things have been moving for the band.
The full tracklist for Friends That I Don’t Like hasn’t been revealed yet.
