Dexter and the Moonrocks turn their unlikely rise out of small-town Texas into a full-length statement on Friends That I Don't Like, the band’s debut album and the clearest picture yet of the self-described “Western Space Grunge” sound that has made them one of rock’s fastest-rising new bands.

The album lands after a remarkable stretch for the four-piece, fueled by the breakout success of “Freakin’ Out.” The song took off far beyond the band’s expectations, helping push their audience into the millions and accelerating plans for a debut album. Rather than spend years laboring over it, Dexter and the Moonrocks wrote much of Friends That I Don't Like in May before heading into the studio in June and July, capturing a band right in the middle of everything changing around them.

Across 14 tracks, they blend the country and western music they grew up around in Texas with the grunge, alternative rock and heavier sounds that shaped them later. Songs including “It’s A Lot,” “If You Could Talk” and “Freakin’ Out” show different sides of that combination, while “12 Steps” features fellow Texas band Treaty Oak Revival and “Why Don’t You Say So” brings Avery Anna into the mix.

That refusal to fit neatly into one corner has been part of Dexter and the Moonrocks from the beginning. Drummer Ryan Fox has said the band often found themselves caught between the expectations of the Texas country scene and heavier rock audiences, eventually deciding that trying to satisfy either side was beside the point. Friends That I Don't Like embraces that freedom, drawing from their small-town upbringing while giving them room to make the kind of rock record they wanted to hear.

There’s also a distinctly blue-collar story behind the band. Before music became their livelihood, its members worked jobs ranging from fry cook and oil-field worker to concrete decorator and baseball coach. That background runs through an album built around friendship, frustration, growing pains and the strange experience of watching a once-improbable dream suddenly become very real.

With Friends That I Don't Like, Dexter and the Moonrocks finally have an album big enough to contain all the different pieces of their sound. Country roots, grunge guitars and alternative-rock hooks come together on a debut that captures exactly what has made the band connect with such a rapidly growing audience.