Dexter and the Moonrocks have revealed the full tracklist for their debut album, Friends That I Don’t Like, and it runs 14 songs deep. The Texas-based band, who describe themselves as “four dumbasses from West Texas,” blend hard rock guitar with country-inflected confessional lyrics and call their sound “Western space grunge.” The record arrives October 2, and it follows a breakout year that included a five-week run atop the Alternative Airplay chart.
The album pairs singer James Tuffs’ vocals with two featured guests: Treaty Oak Revival on the already released “12 Steps,” and Avery Anna on “Why Don’t You Say So.” Both tracks were teased ahead of the full list, with the band promising that the Avery Anna collaboration will “bring back the 2000s divorced dad rock era” when it comes on album release day.
Avery Anna Joins the Band
Avery Anna is a rising country star whose rock goddess vocals have already made a name for herself. She has covered Ozzy Osbourne’s “No More Tears” and released her own “Blood Runs Thicker,” both of which demonstrate the range she brings to the duet. Drummer Ryan Fox, better known simply as Fox, told Billboard he was a fan of Anna’s work before the collaboration even began.
Their connection formed quickly. When they first communicated via social media, Anna had already made a few TikToks with “Freakin’ Out.” Fox recalled the exchange: “I started talking to her and she was like, ‘Oh, I love dad rock, I love Limp Bizkit, all these bands,’ and I was like, ‘Man, I love this idea that we’re [both] almost corrupting the country space.'”
Fox said the collaboration came together fast. The cut happened within 72 hours, according to Fox. He described her vocal style enthusiastically: “I was super stoked for it — to me she sounds like Hayley Williams, like Seether meets Evanescence meets Paramore.”
Treaty Oak Revival’s Role
Treaty Oak Revival joins the band on “12 Steps,” the track already released ahead of the full album. The collaboration pairs Tuffs’ vocals with a featured guest who is a country-rock kindred spirit of sorts for the band, per the band’s description.
The Tracklist in Order
The album opens with “Don’t Wanna Be High” and closes with “Outro (Is DeMar DeRozan Dexter?).” The middle stretches include the featured collaborations, plus a run of songs that the band says helped fuel the current rock revival on the Billboard charts.
Here is the full running order:
- Don’t Wanna Be High
- Mull It Over
- Said What I Said
- Why Don’t You Say So (feat. Avery Anna)
- It’s A Lot
- Complacent
- Let It Hurt
- 12 Steps (feat. Treaty Oak Revival)
- Under The Weather
- Space Invader
- If You Could Talk
- Freakin’ Out
- Embarrassing
- Outro (Is DeMar DeRozan Dexter?)
The Road to Number 33
“Freakin’ Out” was the song that put Dexter and the Moonrocks on the map. The track spent five weeks at No. 1 on Alternative Airplay and broke onto Pop Airplay, becoming the band’s Billboard Hot 100 debut at No. 33.
That success came after the band made its alternative radio breakthrough in 2024. The album itself is a statement of arrival, with 14 tracks designed to establish a sound that the band believes will define rock for years to come.
A Genre of Their Own
The band’s self-coined genre, “Western space grunge,” is part of what makes them distinct. They draw on hard rock guitar and country storytelling while building their own identity.
The comparison to ’90s Seattle is apt. Their songs would sound perfectly at home in that scene, and the band’s influence can be heard in the current rock revival on the Billboard charts.
The Album’s Ambition
The band’s self-description as “four dumbasses from West Texas” and its genre of “Western space grunge” are delightfully unpretentious. Fox’s enthusiasm for Anna’s work is genuine, and the 72-hour turnaround on the duet speaks to a chemistry that the tracklist will now let listeners hear. The tour schedule is ambitious, and the band’s confidence in shaping the next three to five years of rock culture is notable.
The Tour Dates
The band is setting out on a tour of theaters and festivals across the United States, Canada and Australia starting September 24. The run continues through February 2027.
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Tour begins | September 24 |
| Tour ends | February 2027 |
The album arrives October 2, and the full tracklist is now available.
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