Official press release:
On June 15th, Culture Abuse will release their sophomore album Bay Dream. Featuring new single “Calm E”, Bay Dream is the Bay Area-bred band’s first full-length release for Epitaph Records available to pre-order from CultureAbuse-Uncensored.com.
Produced, engineered, and mixed by Carlos De La Garza (Paramore, Jimmy Eat World, M83), Bay Dream follows Culture Abuse’s 2016 debut Peach. The album elevates their melody-heavy garage punk to a new level, drawing inspiration from artists as eclectic as Sly and the Family Stone, Paul Simon, and reggae legend Billy Boyo.
Bay Dream’s lead single “Calm E” embodies Culture Abuse’s kaleidoscopic sound with its textured guitar tones, feelgood melodies, and pummeling drumbeats. At turns delicate and volatile, the track also highlights frontman David Kelling’s nuanced but playful lyrics (“Well hello my lonely rollercoaster/I’m comin’ up so please scoot over”).
With the album’s lyrics largely informed by Kelling’s recent relocation from San Francisco to Los Angeles, physical and emotional movement play off each other effortlessly throughout Bay Dream.
Kelling in reflecting on Bay Dream’s expansive sonic palette says
“I wrote songs in my head until I got a guitar. Just going after the sound that I think each song needs individually, so the sound is in constant change.”
Along with Kelling, Culture Abuse features guitarists John Jr and Nick Bruder, bassist Shane Plitt, and drummer Ross Traver. Formed in 2013, the band signed to Epitaph Records earlier this year.
Bay Dream track listing:
1. “Bay Dream”
2. “Rats In The Walls”
3. “Dip”
4. “Bee Kind To The Bugs”
5. “S’Why”
6. “California Speedball”
7. “Calm E”
8. “Dave’s Not Here (I Got The Stuff Man)”
9. “Dozy”
10. “Bluebird On My Shoulder”
Culture Abuse will be back in Europe this June playing some of the biggest festivals that month as well as the club shows with The Bronx in the UK.
6/08 – Donington Park, UK | Download festival
6/09 – Manchester, UK | Gorilla *
6/10 – London, UK | Electric Ballroom *
* = w/ The Bronx