Austin-based Culture Wars drops an explosive anthem, “Typical Ways,” their latest single. It is a gut punch of raw emotion that reclaims rock’s birthright to be loud, unfiltered, and honest. This song is a full-on release of bottled, pissed-off energy encased in a chorus that begs to be sung along with at full volume.
Vocalist Alex Dugan wrote the biting “Typical Ways” like a self-guided reckoning, an angry missive to his reflection. The result is almost too honest for this overly polished, often-too-safe musical era. And that’s part of what makes it so powerful. “Typical Ways” takes you by the collar from the jump with its pulsing energy and grungy edge. But all the pieces fall into place when Dugan’s voice cuts into that belt-it-out chorus. This is the sound of a man exercising his anguish through melody. It is emotional, it is powerful, and it is unavoidable.
Culture Wars have never been ones to stay within the lines, and this single is proof they aren’t about to start now. Indeed, “Typical Ways” is said to have elicited the most significant audience responses to their recent tours, which says something about when you’re opening for acts with platinum pedigrees.
What sets “Typical Ways” apart is the vulnerability beneath all that noise. There’s something so profoundly human in listening to someone scream about their flaws, shout through their struggles, and somehow make you want to do that, too. Culture Wars is reawakening a sensibility. With “Typical Ways,” they’ve set a fuse to modern rock.
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