Tennis are Patrick Riley and Alaina Moore, a husband and wife duo who’ve burst into our lives quite literally with the most sun-kissed retro pop we’ve heard in years. Taking in only three german cities on their brief European tour yet again us Berliners come up trumps and get a chance to catch the band of the moment in Comet Club.
Their’s is a great story. Having isolated themselves for three years from the immediate pleasures life offers these days, this happy couple managed to save enough money to buy a boat, teach themselves how to sail and undertake an 8 month, 2,500 mile sailing trip down the Atlantic coast of America. And why not, they come from Denver after all, smack-bang in the middle of the States, hundreds of miles from the sea.
It’s all very romantic. The allure of life on the sea is very often inspiration for many artists, however, not many have had the patience to pour so much time and effort into actually getting to the point where life becomes day after day of slowly drifting along wondering what kind of delicious fish you’ll catch for dinner, soundtracked by gentle, warm breezes and the sound of the sea…and all in the company of your loved one.
It was 50s/60s pop sensations The Shirelles’ “Baby it’s you” that proved the catalyst for the formation of the band when they heard it in a bar in Marathon, Fla. Cue sighs and awws, yes, it’s the sugar-coated, solid-gold stuff of legend. Until then unaware of each others musical abilities the sound of the band was agreed on, the instruments were decided on and their next journey began.
Memories of life on the sea in tow and back in land-locked Denver the two set about recording and after a couple of sold out 7″ singles, local shows in Denver, more internet buzz than you can shake a stick at and finally supporting slots to some indie heavyweights in the States, their very own brand of melodic, nostalgic retro surf-pop has rocketed this couple straight into the hearts of indie kids everywhere. Think Beach House’ vocal seduction meets Dum Dum Girls reverb on a breezy, summer afternoon in the school holidays.
Recently fleshed out to a three-piece with the addition of drummer James Barone their debut album Cape Dory, will be released January 18th on Fat Possum and is packed with instant hits like the sha-la-la, reverb laden Cape Dory here:
Let’s hope all the ladies wear their best retro 50s dresses on the night and stick to one side of the room away from the boys for this slice of nostalgia-soaked pop cos if anything says 50s dance hall/school disco nostalgia then it’s this song below, Pigeon…don’t be shy boys, go on, ask her to dance.
