Alex Dugan, Caleb Contreras, Dillon Randolph, David Grayson, and Josh Stirm, the collective force behind Culture Wars, are taking the music scene by storm with their unapologetic style. They already garnered a lot of attention from their previous releases "Heaven" and "Wasting My Time," both offering glimpses of their talent and creativity. 

Their latest offering, a single titled "It Hurts," is an indie rock-infused tune through and through. Recorded at the legendary Sunset Sound Studios in Los Angeles, this song serves as a taste of their upcoming debut album, displaying their wide array of influences and the high amount of passion each one pours into their artistry. "It Hurts" tells the story of a woman grappling with a crumbling socialite life, seeking validation and a new husband through desperate humor.

The band just wrapped up an extensive tour cycle alongside artists like Amy Shark, LANY and BANNERS. Their recent tour stops as support for LANY and Amy Shark in Australia and Asia have served as a wellspring of new experiences for Culture Wars, opening them up to a whole new fanbase. Culture Wars has taken a bit of their time to discuss their upcoming music, the new single, and their touring experiences with us below!

As a band, how do you successfully combine the diverse musical influences of each member to create a unified and cohesive sound?

It’s a bit of a balancing act. It helps to listen to other people’s music passively and hear what others are hearing or into. However, with us, typically we each contribute based on what the song calls for and everyone’s able to bring their own touch to everything.

Do you draw inspiration from any specific early 2000s bands? Your music certainly evokes the style of that era.

I just think that’s the music from when we grew up (mainly 90s through early 2000s), so it naturally sticks, but Oasis, Third Eye Blind, and U2’s ‘All That You Can’t Leave Behind’.

What has been the most memorable or challenging aspect of touring alongside Amy Shark in Australia? 

I think, considering that a major portion of the album was written in Australia, it has always made this tour a bit special to me. It means a lot to me to be here, gaining so much attention and traction all over the country, both in person, online, in print, and on the radio. Actualizing that is a big deal, as Australia is a big deal to me, both personally and professionally.

Could you elaborate on the underlying messages touched in your new single, “It Hurts”?

I’m not sure that there is an actual underlying message that I intended and I don’t particularly like to place meaning on specific lyrics. I can say that I do like “can’t you see, even though, you’re smiling it hurts”, which is based on a woman at the Beverly Hills Hotel trying to find a new future ex-husband at the bar.

While creating “It Hurts”, were there any significant obstacles or moments of inspiration that you'd like to share?

Not really - that was one of the easier ones. The chorus came pretty quickly from just screwing around on my acoustic at home. The rest came together quickly with the band in the studio doing their thing. Pretty straightforward compared to other ones. 

How did you come up with the concept for the music video for "It Hurts"?

A lot of this album is based around the core focus of “a band, playing their instruments, organically” - I’ve repeated that a lot, so the video was focused on performance with just some bar footage of us on the side for some extra vibes. 

Can you give us any details about the themes explored in your upcoming debut album?

There’s not really a central theme that we strived for other than just focusing on songs. If it didn’t sound good with an acoustic or piano with a vocal alone, then we didn’t move forward. That carried us through everything and allowed us to be very focused on just letting the instruments speak for themselves without a lot of extra production needed or added. 

So, after you guys wrap up your tour, what's next? Any plans for new music, maybe a break, or perhaps another tour?

More tours, drop the new album, world domination.

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