LISTEN: Mom Rock Debuts New Single "Close Your Eyes"
Nashville-based rock trio, Mom Rock — Curtis Heimburger [vocals, guitar], Tara Maggiulli [bass, vocals], and Wilson Reardon [drums] — craft bouncy rock ‘n’ roll anthems charged up by airtight pop hooks and one-liners. They deliver the sophomore single off their debut LP — Now That’s What I Call Mom Rock (due October 13) — “Close Your Eyes.” The track is sure to be blasting from car radios across the country, the bass-line snaking under palm-muted verses before climaxing on a floaty hook.
“You see someone from afar and fall in love. Without knowing who this person really is, you dream up a whole future together,” elaborates Tara on the storyline of the song. “This kid essentially obsesses over a pop star, meets her, and she’s like, ‘You’re a kid. I’m not in love with you. That would be weird.’ It’s a ‘sad in love’ song.” Greatly inspired by “Teenage Dirtbag” by Wheatus, the song tells the story as if it didn’t end with the guy getting the girl. From the moment the drums kick in, the infectious beat and repeating chorus drive home that ‘it’s all just a dream.’
On June 30, the trio released the punk rock lead single, “My Way.” Accompanied by an infomercial-style comedic music video, the tune charges out of the gate on a call-and-response between Tara and Curtis, hinging on a hummable and hard-hitting riff and galloping rhythm.
Mom Rock initially came to life back in 2017. As the story goes, the Vancouver-born Curtis met Wilson in class at Berklee College of Music. A year later, Long Island-native and Northeastern student Tara completed the lineup. Together, the musicians bonded over a shared obsession with The Cars and Weezer and quietly buzzed in the local scene. The group performed at the kind of house parties you’d see in turn-of-the-century R-rated comedies, but they immediately stuck out like a sore thumb (in the most coordinated way possible). “Everyone was wearing skinny jeans and flannels, so we looked like The Wiggles with our jumpsuits,” recalls Tara.
During 2019, an impromptu upload of “Conversation” tallied over 1.5 million Spotify streams. On its heels, “Grand Romantic Life” generated north of 3.5 million Spotify streams, followed by the I Wish Every Day Was Today EP [2020] and a song with a happy end EP [2021]. They also notably made waves as “Rolling Stone’s 2022 Hot Band” and toured with the likes of Spill Canvas in addition to gracing the bills of festivals a la Shaky Knees and Music Midtown.