Denver lo-fi pop duo Tennis have gotten a lot of press recently after the release of their 7” on Underwater Peoples. I succumbed to the pressure from friends to check out their tunes [link] and I couldn’t help but to draw comparisons to Beach House, She & Him, and Wild Nothing who put out three of my favorite records of the year, so I naturally got excited when I heard they were playing Glasslands Gallery in southside Williamsburg.

I got to the venue with my buddy Alex around 9:15 to catch the opening 4 acts (in order of appearance): Night Manager, Cool Runnings, Family Portrait, Magic Bullets. My satisfaction with the music increased as the night went on. Night Manager were sloppy and not tight sounding. Cool Runnings sounded like an indie new wave version of Meatloaf. Also, it seemed like they could sound better with 1 or 2 less bandmembers. After Cool Runnings, Family Portrait hit the stage and immediately got my attention with their spacey dual guitars and early Beach Boys aesthetic (i.e. before Brian Wilson was taking mass quantities of acid). The final opener, Magic Bullets, sounded like a funkier version of The Cure and they were 100% able to pull that off in a fun, danceable way.

I was getting a little sweaty being packed inside with the rest of the SOLD OUT crowd, but I didn’t mind as much when Tennis began playing a little after midnight. Their 30+ minute set included all the songs from their 7’ as well as a few other originals including South Carolina and an unrecognizable cover song.

In the house mix, R. McKinney’s drums and Patrick Riley’s guitar were the dominant forces driving the songs while Alaina Moore’s keys added a dash of texture to the songs. Moore’s vocals were clear, smooth, and sweet sounding almost to the exact tone of their studio word. Below, you can see a high quality video of their single, “Marathon”

Overall, I’d say was a success: amazing banter about the duo being sailors before musicians, high energy from all musicians, and well-crafted pop songs. Can’t argue with that. However, next time around, I expect a longer set.

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David Chaitt is the blog editor for SoundCtrl and creator/host of the Backyard Brunch Sessions

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