Husband and wife throwback duo, with drummer James Barone joining up during their first tour, Tennis had an awful lot of hype behind them when their debut, Cape Dory, hit last year. With The Black Keys' Patrick Carney handling production, their sophomore effort sounds much more capable of reaching the towering heights promised on their ballyhooed debut. Alaina Moore's classic pop vocals rolling through the shaggy "It All Feels The Same", jangling piano of "Petition", and boppy, sweet winner "Origins" show that just because you find a band over-hyped at first does not mean there is true talent there waiting to deliver the goods. The more upbeat vibe of the album leads toe-tapping joy on "My Better Self", with Moore's sweetly cooed vocals providing a nice counter-point to the rubbery bass groove, rather than dissolving into the music as it often did on the last effort. You could still sneak the classic rock n roll sound of tracks like the dance of organ and bass on "Robin" or the sweeping surfer rock of "Dreaming" onto an oldies playlist without anyone batting an eye. The more polished, vibrant sound this time out makes Tennis' definitely worth checking out.
Seek: "Origins", "My Better Self", "Petition"
For fans of: She & Him
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