Emerging from the Bay Area during the middle of the 2010s, Culture Abuse blended hardcore, melodic garage punk, grunge, and slacker indie into a distinctive sound. Their first album, released in 2016, earned strong praise from reviewers and listeners alike, while the follow-up effort Bay Dream expanded their artistic scope even further; however, the band dissolved in 2020 after frontman David Kelling acknowledged claims of sexual misconduct.
The group came together in San Francisco toward the end of 2013, with singer Kelling joined by guitarists Nick Bruder and John McCarthy, bassist Shane Plitt, and drummer Evan Pierce. Their initial official release arrived in 2014 via the two-song 7-inch Spray Paint the Dog on the West Coast indie label 6131 Records. Two years later the same imprint issued their debut full-length Peach, whose key track “Dream On” quickly broadened their reach. After inking a deal with Epitaph, the five-piece enlisted producer Carlos de la Garza—known for work with Paramore, Jimmy Eat World, and M83—to record their second album, Bay Dream, which surfaced in summer 2018. The record highlighted both the band’s instrumental power and their knack for pop hooks, leading to two 2019 singles: “Goo” and “War Time Dub, Culture City,” the latter featuring Virginia rapper Lil Ugly Mane.
In July 2020 an anonymous allegation prompted Kelling to confirm incidents of sexual misconduct and emotional abuse dating back a decade. His bandmates publicly distanced themselves from him, used their social-media channels to amplify the accuser’s account, and declared that Culture Abuse had disbanded.
