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Tennis : Cape Dory

Fat Possum

The lo-fi jangle of modern indie pop has never fully detached from its ancestor styles: late‘50s rock-and-roll and early ‘60s doo-wop and girl groups. But few modern pop groups feel as firmly rooted in the breezy, pre-psychedelic buzz of early ‘60s pop as the Colorado-based husband-and-wife team Tennis. Inspired by a year-long sailboat trip the couple took through the Atlantic, Cape Dory is filled with small, simple stories that feel both retro and hip. Singer Alaina Moore posses a rich, sultry voice that is a natural compliment for guitarist Patrick Riley’s surf-punk guitar lines. The couples’ stories walk the line between sunny and happy, many times waltzing into a fall of fuzz after only a few minutes. The standout track “Pigeon” feels like a lost Kennedy-era moment pressed to vinyl at a time when indie rock itself is simultaneously splintering into a myriad of electronic and retro-styles.