Tennis, no not a game with racquets and tennis balls, but a duo group of a husband and wife, released their first full-length album “Cape Dory” on January 18, 2011, through Fat Possum Record Label. This Denver, Colorado-based band is made of husband, Patrick Riley, and wife, Alaina Moore. Their songs consist of a laid back, surfer mood that draws heavily from the girl group era. Their inspirations are based on a seven-month sailing trip that the couple took on the Eastern seaboard. As stated by Pitchfork, their music “touches on tide patterns and shifting winds and sandbars scraping beneath hulls; it also emphasizes the essential romance of the whole adventure. Above all, Tennis strives to evoke an unnamed but certainly more innocent past.” Everything about this group yells ‘a trip down memory lane.’ From the group’s name Tennis (a sport that had its peak popularity in the 70s and 80s) to the overall girl group pop sound to the record’s cover, it is all very nostalgia.

To start off, Prefix Magazine gave this album a rating of 9.0, while the average user rating was a 7.8. The first song, ‘Marathon’ is about the first time the duo ever sailed at night, describing the ocean like being in outer space and being really scary. This song was first introduced in June 2010 as a summer song. It was also featured on various television shows, such as the Greek Next Top Model and One Tree Hill. This song, like the rest, lives up to their “surfer-feel” with soothing melodies and calming voice of Alaina. When Moore sings lead, stretching her vowels that are combined with a dull recording, it is still pleasant and expressive.

“Cape Dory” is a concept album where every song is about the seven month sailing trip that Riley and Moore took, but the songs expertly navigate the tricky waters of romantic naval gazing, as stated by Prefix Magazine. The lyrics touch on universal topics, such as in the track “Baltimore,” where Moore sings: Can we get a job/Is that asking a lot? That one lyric can be related to today’s economy. The album flows with precision. Pitchfork stated that while the music is pleasant, it feels one-note and flat, but maybe that is needed to tell the story of the duo. Many singers produce albums where the songs are lively, upbeat, and predominately the same. On the other hand, Tennis uses their writing skills to produce songs that the listeners can vicariously live through. Personally, I do not think the melodies are flat but soothing and filled with memories. This album feels more like a slide show of their trip in song form than it does of anything else. Think of it as the perfect album on a rainy day: set the album at a soothing volume, sit back with closed eyes, and let Alaina’s voice carry you on a ride across the waters.

Track List
1. Take Me Somewhere
2. Long Boat Pass
3. Cape Dory
4. Marathon
5. Bimini Bay
6. South Carolina
7. Pigeon
8. Seafarer
9. Baltimore
10. Water birds

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About the author

Eisha Vatsal
I enjoy a range of music and love to learn about different artists from all over the world. I love to read. My favorite season is a mixture of late spring and early summer (before it gets too hot).