Tennis is an American

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and su ...

band from

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

, United States, made up of husband-and-wife duo Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley. The duo formed in 2010, and released their debut album, ''

Cape Dory The Cape dory, Cape Dory, or Cape John Dory (''Zeus capensis'') is a fish of the family Zeidae. It occurs on the coast of Namibia, South Africa, and Mozambique in South Atlantic and Western Indian Oceans. It is a demersal fish that lives at the ...

'', in 2011. Their second album, '' Young & Old'', was released the following year. Their third album, '' Ritual in Repeat'' (2014), was released on Communion records. The band's fourth album, '' Yours Conditionally'', was released in 2017, followed by '' Swimmer'' in 2020. ''Swimmer'' was named one of the best albums of 2020 by ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...

''. Their sixth studio album, '' Pollen'', was released on February 10, 2023.

Background

Alaina Moore (born May 9, 1985) and Patrick Riley (born September 9, 1986) met in a philosophy class while both were students at the

University of Colorado, Denver The University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver) is a public research university in Denver, Colorado. It is part of the University of Colorado system. History University of Colorado System Anschutz Medical Campus The University of Colorado create ...

in 2008. The couple started the band after they returned from an eight-month sailing expedition down the Eastern Atlantic Seaboard after their graduation. Moore had initially intended to go to law school. The songs on the band's first album would come to document their experiences sailing. Prior to forming Tennis, Moore's earliest singing experience was in

church choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

s during her youth.

Career

2010–2013: ''Cape Dory'' and ''Young & Old''

Their first releases, both in July 2010, were the "Baltimore" EP on the Underwater Peoples label and the "South Carolina" single on Fire Talk. Tennis released their first studio album, ''

'' on

Fat Possum Records Fat Possum Records is an American independent record label based in Water Valley and Oxford, Mississippi. At first Fat Possum focused almost entirely on recording previously unknown Mississippi blues artists (typically from Oxford or Holly Sprin ...

in January 2011. The album, featured on

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

, was based on the couple's experiences during their sailing trip. During their first tour, James Barone joined the band on drums. The second Tennis album, '' Young & Old'', was released on Fat Possum Records on February 14, 2012, produced by Patrick Carney of

The Black Keys The Black Keys are an American rock duo formed in Akron, Ohio, in 2001. The group consists of Dan Auerbach (guitar, vocals) and Patrick Carney (drums). The duo began as an independent act, recording music in basements and self-producing their ...

, preceded by the single "Origins", which was issued on Forest Family Records on December 6, 2011. Tennis released a number of covers as self-released (digital) singles during 2011-2012, including versions of "

Tell Her No "Tell Her No" is a hit single written by Rod Argent and included by English rock band the Zombies on their debut album ''The Zombies'' in 1965. It peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States in March 1965 and was one of thr ...

" by

the Zombies The Zombies are an English Rock music, rock band formed in the early 1960s in St Albans and led by keyboardist and vocalist Rod Argent and vocalist Colin Blunstone. The group had a British and American chart-topper, hit in 1964 with "She's Not ...

, "Is It True?" by

Brenda Lee Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944), known professionally as Brenda Lee, is an American singer. Performing rockabilly, pop and country music, she had 47 US chart hits during the 1960s and is ranked fourth in that decade, surpassed onl ...

, "Tears in the Typing Pool" by Broadcast and "Guiding Light" by

Television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

. ''

American Songwriter ''American Songwriter'' is a bimonthly magazine covering songwriting. Established in 1984, it features interviews, songwriting tips, news, reviews and lyric contest. The magazine is based in Nashville, Tennessee. History The ''American Songwri ...

'' named Tennis their Writer of the Week for the week of April 23, 2012. The band made several television appearances during 2012, performing "Origins" on ''

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014. The fourth incarnation of the ...

'' on March 21, "It All Feels the Same" on '' Late Night with David Letterman'' on April 9, and "My Better Self" and "High Road" on '' Conan'' on July 25.

2014–2015: ''Small Sound'' and ''Ritual in Repeat''

In November 2013, Tennis released a 5-song EP titled ''Small Sound'' on Communion Records. It was previewed through Pitchfork Advance on October 29, 2013. In May 2014, the band supported sister-act

Haim The name ''Haim'' can be a first name or surname originating in the Hebrew language, or deriving from the Old German name '' Haimo''. Hebrew etymology Chayyim ( he, חַיִּים ', Classical Hebrew: , Israeli Hebrew: ), also transcribed ''Ha ...

on their North American spring tour. Their third album, '' Ritual in Repeat'', was released on Communion in September 2014 to critical acclaim. In a feature on the album, NPR ''

Fresh Air ''Fresh Air'' is an American radio talk show broadcast on National Public Radio stations across the United States since 1985. It is produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The show's host is Terry Gross. , the show was syndicated to ...

s Terry Gross said, "Can you re-invent lively pop from the distant past? ...songwriting team Tennis does just that with their new third album, ''Ritual in Repeat''", while NPR's critic Milo Miles stated, "On ''Ritual in Repeat'', it's like Moore and Riley discover just how much ancient Latin, or in this case extinct pop styles, is their natural language". Barone left the group in 2015. On March 29, 2015, Tennis performed at

Burger Records Burger Records was an American independent record label and record store in Fullerton, California, United States. The label was founded in 2007 by Sean Bohrman and Lee Rickard, members of the power pop band Thee Makeout Party. The record/video s ...

' Burgerama 4 festival in Santa Ana, California, and two songs from that set, "I'm Callin" and "Never Work for Free", were later aired on the May 7 episode of ''

Last Call with Carson Daly ''Last Call with Carson Daly'' is an American late-night television series that was broadcast by NBC from 2002 to 2019. Hosted by former MTV personality Carson Daly, the series was initially formatted as a late-night talk show in line with ''T ...

''. Tennis were also selected to perform on April 1, 2015 at the United Artists Theater at the

Ace Hotel Ace Hotel is a chain of hotels headquartered in Los Angeles and New York City. Founded in 1999 in Seattle, it operates hotels primarily in the United States, with locations in Portland, Oregon; Brooklyn, New York City; Palm Springs, California; ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

for "The Music of David Lynch" event, hosted by the

David Lynch Foundation The David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education and World Peace (or simply DLF) is a global charitable foundation with offices in New York City, Los Angeles, and Fairfield, Iowa. It was founded by film director and Transcendental Me ...

2016–2018: ''Yours Conditionally'' and ''We Can Die Happy''

In early 2016, Moore and Riley once again set out on a sailboat journey in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

, intended to provide inspiration for their next album, with their sailing experience being blogged by

Urban Outfitters Urban Outfitters, Inc. (URBN) is a multinational lifestyle retail corporation headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Operating in the U.S., the United Kingdom, Canada, select Western European countries, Poland the United Arab Emirates, K ...

. The band's fourth and first self-produced album, '' Yours Conditionally'', was released March 5, 2017 on the band's own label Mutually Detrimental. Record club Vinyl Me, Please chose ''Yours Conditionally'' as its "album-of-the-month", and the album debuted at No. 3 on '' Billboards Alternative Albums chart and No. 2 on the Vinyl Albums chart. Tennis appeared at the 2017 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, and toured supporting

Spoon A spoon is a utensil consisting of a shallow bowl (also known as a head), oval or round, at the end of a handle. A type of cutlery (sometimes called flatware in the United States), especially as part of a place setting, it is used primarily f ...

and

the Shins The Shins is an American indie rock band formed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1996. The band is the project of singer-songwriter James Mercer, who has served as the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes. The band's cu ...

. On November 9, 2017, Tennis released the EP ''We Can Die Happy'', preceded by the singles "No Exit" and "I Miss That Feeling". The band toured North America from November 2017 to February 2018 in support of the project.

2019–2022: ''Swimmer''

On November 8, 2019, Tennis released a new single, "Runner," followed by "Need your Love" on January 20, 2020, and "How to Forgive" four days later. These three songs appeared as tracks 4, 2, and 3 (respectively) on Tennis's fifth album, released February 14, 2020, titled ''Swimmer'', again self-produced on Moore and Riley's Mutually Detrimental label. On October 9, 2020, Tennis released a cover of the song "

Superstar A superstar is someone who has great popular appeal and is widely known, prominent, or successful in their field. Celebrities referred to as "superstars" may include individuals who work as actors, musicians, athletes, and other media-based profe ...

." Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the band postponed its 2020 tour for ''Swimmer,'' with plans to tour the United States with

Molly Burch Molly Burch (born October 23, 1990) is an American singer-songwriter. Based in Austin, Texas, her music often reflects themes of heartbreak and loss. She is the lead vocalist and writer. Burch studied jazz vocal performance at UNC Asheville and ...

from June 3 to November 17, 2021. In 2021 Tennis collaborated with the cartoon show ''

Rick and Morty {{Infobox television , image = Rick and Morty title card (cropped).png , alt = , caption = , genre = {{Plainlist, * Animated sitcom * Adult animation * Science fiction * Black comedy * ...

'' to produce the song “Borrowed Time”, which aired on episode 9 of Season 5, “Forgetting Sarick Mortshall”. The song was credited to “Rick and Morty and Tennis”.

2022–present: ''Pollen''

On November 15, 2022, Tennis released the single "One Night with the Valet" and announced their sixth studio album '' Pollen'', which was released on February 10, 2023 by Mutually Detrimental, Moore and Riley's label. A video for the song was released on December 13. The band released the second single "Let's Make a Mistake Tonight" alongside a music video for the track on January 10, 2023.

Band members

Current members * Alaina Moore – vocals, keyboards, guitar (2010–present) * Patrick Riley – guitar, bass guitar (2010–present) Current touring musicians * Steve Voss – drums (2015–present) * Ryan Tullock – bass (2017–present) Former touring musicians * James Barone – drums (2011–2015)

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'' (Fat Possum, January 2011) * '' Young & Old'' (Fat Possum, February 2012) * '' Ritual in Repeat'' (Communion, September 2014) * '' Yours Conditionally'' (Mutually Detrimental, March 2017) * '' Swimmer'' (Mutually Detrimental, February 2020) * '' Pollen'' (Mutually Detrimental, February 2023)

EPs

* ''Small Sound'' (Communion, November 2013) * ''We Can Die Happy'' (Mutually Detrimental, November 2017)

Singles

* "Baltimore" (Underwater Peoples, July 2010) * "South Carolina" (Fire Talk, July 2010) * "Is It True?" (self-released, June 2011) * "Tell Her No" (self-released, October 2011) * "Tears in the Typing Pool" (self-released, December 2011) * "Origins" (Forest Family, December 2011) * "My Better Self" / "Petition" (ATP, May 2012) * "Guiding Light" (self-released, September 2012) * "I'm Callin'" (Communion Records, August 2014) * "Easter Island" (Universale Music Group North America, May 2015) * "Ladies Don't Play Guitar" (Mutually Detrimental, August 2016) * "In the Morning I'll Be Better" (Mutually Detrimental, December 2016) * "Modern Woman" (Mutually Detrimental, January 2017) * "My Emotions Are Blinding" (Mutually Detrimental, February 2017) * "No Exit" (Mutually Detrimental, August 2017) * "I Miss That Feeling" (Mutually Detrimental, October 2017) * "Runner" (Mutually Detrimental, November 2019) * "Need Your Love" (Mutually Detrimental, January 2020) * "How to Forgive" (Mutually Detrimental, January 2020) * "

" (Mutually Detrimental, October 2020)

References

External links

Official site
* {{Authority control 2010 establishments in Colorado Alternative rock groups from Colorado American musical duos Dream pop musical groups Indie pop groups from Colorado Indie rock musical groups from Colorado Musical groups established in 2010 Musical groups from Denver Rock music duos Fat Possum Records artists Male–female musical duos