2015 may be behind us, but we here at the Deli spent the past year with our ears tuned to the future. Now that the dust from our most recent journey around the sun has settled, we're excited to reveal the results of our Open Submissions poll. We asked local Nashville artists to submit their work, and the list below reflects our editors' rankings of what we received. Next we'll be revealing the results of our local jurors' nominations, followed by one more round of voting by our readers and our writers. Stay tuned and keep it coming in 2016, Nashville.

Step Sisters Score: 7.5/10

10 String Symphony Score: 7.5/10

Cosmic Coast Score: 7.33/10

Birdtalker Score: 7.33/10

Smooth Hound Smith Score: 7/10

Damned Rivers Score: 7/10

Annalise Emerick Score: 7/10

Honorable Mentions:

Erin Rae; Robert Sieben's Sidecar Sazerac; Jack Berry; Oh Grandpa; Ashley Leone; The Drag; The Ignorist; Brave Town; Future Thieves; Gnarly Parkers; Michael McQuaid

Since they won our Band of the Month title last year, we've been keeping tabs on indie/alt rockers Brave Town. Yesterday the guys dropped an EP, and we're already singing along.

Brimming with melodic guitar riffs, smooth, youthful vocals and tasteful percussion,  the 4-song release shows the sunny side of alternative rock. With this EP, Brave Town achieve the delicate balance between deliberate and organic, and find a natural middle ground among the quartet's range of influences. The opening track "Denim" is vibrant and danceable, while "Is It Worth It" takes the acoustic route to highlight encouraging and uplifting lyrics.

The Brave Town EP is the perfect thing to listen to if you're feeling down. Or happy. Or getting ready to conquer the day. Or really any time at all.

Give it a listen here, and don't miss Brave Town's release show at The High Watt this Friday with Corey Kilgannon and Fleurie. -Caroline Bowman

Brave Town's Artist of the Month Win falls in with their month of solid successes. They started September with a show at 3rd and Lindsley, had some spins of their first single "Jubilee" on Lightning 100, and then put out this gem in the middle of the month.

Yes, it's so good that we f*cked up our usual formatting just to drive the point home. This track scratches that itch that (reaching back a few years here) Cold War Kids left after “Loyalty to Loyalty” left us a little underwhelmed, with it’s sharp piano backbone and just-unhinged waver in Jay Ragsdale's vocals. It’s a promising chaser to last year’s EP “Flavor,” and we can’t wait for more. –Terra James-Jura

BraveTown.Bandcamp.com