Tennis: One Night with The Valet

Tennis, the Denver native indie pop band, is heating up this winter and have released new music along with dates for a North American tour. Formed in 2010, Tennis is comprised of husband-and-wife duo Alania Moore and Patrick Riley, who began writing songs about one of their many sailing voyages. The musical endeavor quickly turned into the pairs’ first album Cape Dory and after its success, the band continued on the musical path. With Moore on vocals and keys and Riley on drums and guitar, the pair effortlessly creates beautiful music reflective of their seabreeze adventures. Tennis strays from conventional pop by ignoring common song structures and creating music unique to them. Mixing 70’s soft rock and modern pop, the result is hazy, melancholy, and intimate songs that transport listeners into their own ocean oasis.

On November 15th, Tennis took to social media and announced their upcoming sixth album Pollen and simultaneously released the first single, “One Night with The Valet.” The single is the duo’s first new release since their song “Borrowed Time,” a track they composed last September for popular TV show Rick and Morty. “One Night with The Valet” is raw, beautifully composed and hypnotic. A song of love and infatuation, it acts as a companion to an older Tennis song, “Hotel Valet.” Together they reflect on the first meeting between Riley and Moore, telling of the chance encounter and the instant rush of love that would change their paths. When I first heard “One Night with The Valet,” I was in awe as it was so simple yet intricate at the same time. A song as fleeting as its name, it whisks by under 2 minutes. Filled with a steady tempo percussion, subdued keys and a pounding base running right past you. Moore’s mellow vocals illuminate the scene, making you experience the nervousness and excitement of meeting someone new. It washes over you with a feeling of mystery, but leaves you wanting more. An instant but unconventional classic, the song was stuck on repeat for days.

Just shy of a month later, on December 13th, Tennis released the full video for the newest single, which was just as beautiful as the song itself. Directed by New York photographer Luca Venter, the video is true to the aesthetic of Tennis, capturing the beauty in the simple things. In this case, the video takes place on a lush farm near a forest surrounded by grazing horses and goats. Donning an almost angelic painted face and victorian-esque ensemble, Moore mimes her personal emotions behind the lyrics against the green landscape. After introducing the music video, Moore said on social media “…I tapped into my inner jester…dabbling in some light miming. In the company of grazing animals, I professed my undying devotion to someone just off camera but never out of sight.” In just a week the video has gained over fifteen thousand views on YouTube and the song has reached over 800,000 streams on Spotify.

Tennis will release their album Pollen on February 10th under their own label, Mutually Detrimental. A now sold out special release week show will be hosted in London on February 14th, with an American tour kicking off March 24th in Atlanta, Georgia. Check out the new Tennis single, “One Night with The Valet” below and click the link to buy tickets to the upcoming Pollen Tour.