FINALLY: American Songwriter’s Top 5 Dad Rock Bands

From a young age, the music snob has zero patience for the pedestrian drivel played on the radio. But once middle life moves into striking distance, and the agitated complaints of what passes as “music these days” mount, one may (painfully, inescapably) find themselves in the throes of dad culture.

At concerts, the audiences are very white and male, and the spouses or girlfriends (or boyfriends) are, at best, obligatorily tagging along. At home, the dad rocker will spend an obscene amount of money on a hi-fi stereo system to prove how good vinyl sounds. (Incidentally, we’re told, the subject’s domain might also include a backup sandalwood beard comb in his travel bag to avoid a vacation crisis, three pairs of reading glasses placed strategically around the house, and a medicine cabinet full of essential oils from Whole Foods.) 

Now, a Google search for “examples of dad rock” brings forth mixed messaging. Some sources essentially conflate dad rock with classic rock. Others see turn-of-the-century nü-metal as dad rock. But for our money, this new-ish and fundamental genre must be represented by the music those people currently becoming dads in the mid-2020s likely fell in love with in their formative years. Thus, dad rock bands could be graying grunge-rockers from Washington State, or perhaps perennially bearded bands from Brooklyn.

Regardless, fill your glass with one of those giant ice cubes, reach for the bottle of anything you had to charge on Amex or else it would have wiped out half your paycheck, and enjoy these Top 5 dad rock bands.   

5. Death Cab for Cutie

Death Cab for Cutie is one of those bands that had the dad look right out of the gate. When they released their brilliant fourth album, Transatlanticism, in 2003, they shot from indie emo darlings to mainstream rock success.

Led by Ben Gibbard’s literate songwriting and Chris Walla’s ambitious production, Transatlanticism marked the dividing line between Death Cab’s indie-secret status and major-label rockstar ascendance. It was also a pivotal time for singer Ben Gibbard, as his side project, the Postal Service, also released its only album, Give Up. To date, Give Up is indie label Sub Pop’s second-biggest-selling album behind Nirvana’s Bleach. 

4. The National

Brooklyn’s The National is the ultimate sad dad band. Aware of their reputation, The National sells “Sad Dad” merch. Over 10 albums, singer Matt Berninger has expertly detailed the listlessness accompanying ordinary life. The slow-motion certainty of death coming into focus with age on “Green Gloves” is Berninger fighting such certainty with vivid memories.

Berninger writes like a novelist, and his band sounds like they’re scoring a film. Twin brothers Bryce Dessner and Aaron Dessner are musical geniuses, too, and The National has quietly reached household-name status (assuming your household contains a dad with impeccable music taste). Aaron Dessner regularly collaborates with Taylor Swift, by the way, proving that even Swifties yearn for a bit of dad rock. 

3. Wilco

It’s a mistake to think dad rock is synonymous with milquetoast. Wilco became famous for defiant experimentalism, and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot is a groundbreaking album from a band that has remained persistently curious. They are also one of the best live bands on the planet, and Jeff Tweedy is one of his generation’s most influential American songwriters.

[RELATED: The Meaning Behind the Somber Ballad “We’re Just Friends” by Wilco]

While deconstructing the songs that would make up Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, Wilco tore apart and rebuilt their band. Tweedy’s history with Uncle Tupelo helped create a new alternative-county music scene—now called Americana. But Tweedy’s punk rock spirit rejected the clichés consuming Americana bands. Check out “Misunderstood” from Wilco’s second album, Being There. It’s the sound of a restless thinker moving on from something he helped make. 

2. Pearl Jam

During the ’90s, Pearl Jam was one of the biggest bands on Earth. They are now more of a mainstream, major-label band that has still remained fiercely independent. Outside multiple drummers, the core lineup has remained intact. For many dad rock bands, fans only know maybe one or two members. Of course, they know the singer’s name. But Pearl Jam is the kind of band where each member is essential. Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament started the band. What would Pearl Jam sound like without Mike McCready’s face-melting guitar solos? And many Eddie Vedder wannabes followed in Pearl Jam’s footprints, but none could hold a candle to his brilliance. Vedder writes songs like his hero, Pete Townshend, and carries the torch of nonconformism from Fugazi’s Ian MacKaye. 

1. Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd is peak ‘dad rock.’ By the time Pink Floyd released their masterpiece, The Dark Side of the Moon, most fans still didn’t know what the band looked like. Blending in anonymously is akin to age and resignation. Plus, dads love a Fender Stratocaster, and no one plays a Fender Strat as beautifully as David Gilmour.

Dads are definitely down with Floyd’s extended guitar solos. But Pink Floyd also hit on themes universally resonant. Being a rock star isn’t necessary to relate to The Wall and the onset of madness from life’s pressures. Many struggle with an independent spirit fighting against life’s banal repetition. Bottom line: a Pink Floyd album is a fine way to escape the doldrums of midlife ennui.  

Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for KROQ/Entercom