Mom and Dad’s brand of art punk has typically resided within the harder, heavier, fuzzier realms of Nashville’s garage rock and punk scene. As a group, they’ve been largely content to hone their skills as a noisy rendition of the quintessential DIY basement rock band. With all this in mind, I am, Therefore I is, is the group’s most accessible work yet. The album consists mostly of simple, pop oriented tunes that glide through the ears with an ease usually reserved for indie pop. The band describes their latest release as a “a very tender record” and indeed it blows over the listener like a sudden refreshing breeze on a humid summer day. There’s a certain sentimentality that makes itself evident on tracks like “Winchester, TN” an acoustic narrative about a rural Tennessee location close to the group’s heart. If the new album represents anything in Mom and Dad’s career arch, it proves just how capable the band is of making intimate music that emotionally resonates with listeners.

-Andrew Strader

Our Best of Nashville 2017 poll began last week with the Indie Rock/Pop category and after you-the-people cast your vote, we have the results to share with you!

Overall Poll winner (Jurors vote + Readers' vote): Sun Seeker

Readers' Poll Winner (Readers' Vote only): Mom and Dad

Both of these artists offer a unique brand of indie rock. Mom and Dad concieve fuzzy rock n' roll songs that are catchy enough to linger in your head long after you think you're done with them. They fill a lo-fi, experimental sonic niche reminiscint of artists like Ty Segall, but structure their tunes in a way that emulates 60s pyscedelic pop hit makers like (ironically) The Mamas and The Papas. Both the heavy, garage rock fans and indie radio pop listeners have a friend in Mom and Dad, who don't have any qualms with a catchy synth line or cutesie pop vocal hook, but love to create heavy sonic scapes with distorted guitars. They're master dabblers who love swim in and out of different genre pools. 

Sun Seeker is a collective of local boys who give Nashville its much needed dose of alt-country rock. With simple beats, acoustic rhythm guitars and long, soaring pedal steel lines, they fill a somehow vacant space in the indie scene. Influeced by classics like Fleetwood Mac and Wilco, the songs are mature in their minimalism. Despite the band's young age, they have enourmous talent in crafting beautiful, simple work that feels classic on the first listen. 

Honorable mentions go to Keeps (third in the overall chart) and The Pills (second in the Readers' poll). The full list of nominees can be found under the streaming tracks.

Here is the list of all the finalists in the Nashville indie rock/pop category and their readers' poll results: 

	ElEl		4%	3 votes
	Keeps		5%	4 votes
	Lylas		1%	1 vote
	Mom and Dad		76%	53 votes
	The Pills		8%	6 votes
	Sun Seeker		2%	2 votes

Get to know the bands competing for a spot at The Deli Showcase 8.18 at Mercy Lounge, and VOTE for ALL the bands you'd like to see on stage!

Mom and Dad