Indie rock duo Tennis has announced their indefinite hiatus. The band, consisting of husband and wife Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley, confirmed the news ahead of the release of their seventh and final studio album, Face Down in the Garden, which will arrive on April 25th via their label Mutually Detrimental. They have also shared the last single from the album, “12 Blown Tires.” Tennis formed in 2010 in Denver, Colorado, and have since released six studio albums.
They’ve toured with bands like Spoon, The Shins, and HAIM, collaborated with the show Rick and Morty, and performed at major festivals including Coachella and Lollapalooza. To commemorate their journey, they’ll also be releasing a new EP, Neutral Poetry: First Recordings, Unreleased Demos 2009-2010, a collection of their earliest, previously unheard tracks, set to arrive on May 16th. In a statement addressing their break up, Moore shared an anecdote that inspired their latest single: “On a cross-country drive at the end of a tour, our van and trailer blew four tires in quick succession.
That particular stretch of highway was a tire graveyard. I counted the shredded remains of twelve tires from where we sat on the side of the road, swapping out our last spare. Our bad luck was heavily contrasted by the good night we’d just had in Houston.
The highs and lows of touring are unnatural, disorienting. On the shoulder of I-40, I began writing the lyrics to ’12 Blown Tires.’ It is a constellation of memories from the road, and of our marriage, two endeavors that are completely, hopelessly entangled.”
Moore continued, “When we recorded ’12 Blown Tires’ a few months later, I had the sense of distilling the past 15 years into four minutes of music. It felt like the end of something, though I wasn’t sure what.
Patrick and I spent most of our 20s and all of our 30s focused on Tennis.
Indie band announces final tour
It has been the most joyous, bewildering, challenging, and humbling experience.
After finishing Face Down In The Garden, it became clear that we had said everything we wanted to say and achieved everything we wanted to achieve with our band. This will be our last studio album, at least in this configuration as Tennis. We are ready to pursue other creative projects and to make space in our lives for new things.
In that light, the upcoming tour feels more poignant, like a concluding thought. These two kids from Denver who only ever dreamed of playing a few house shows are very fulfilled. Perhaps we’ll see you on the road.
As always, thank you.”
Their latest single, “12 Blown Tires,” is a touching and sentimental piece. “No flower withers/ No flower withers in your hand, in your hand,” Moore sings over trotting drums and reverb-ridden guitars. The song builds in power and scope, with the instrumentals growing more intense throughout the track.
Tennis will embark on a final farewell North American tour, beginning in Las Vegas on May 16th, coinciding with the release of Neutral Poetry. They will visit cities such as Minneapolis, Chicago, Cleveland, Toronto, Boston, New York, Atlanta, Nashville, Austin, San Diego, Los Angeles, Denver, Vancouver, and more. Their final show will take place in Saratoga, California, on September 4th.
As they prepare to bid farewell, Tennis leave an indelible mark on the indie rock scene, remembered for their unique sound and heartfelt performances.
