After 15 years of defining indie-pop with their melodic charm and dreamy sensibilities, Tennis—the beloved husband-and-wife duo of Patrick Riley and Alaina Moore—has released their seventh and final studio album, Face Down In The Garden. Out now on their self-run Mutually Detrimental label, the album captures a reflective, mature iteration of the duo’s acclaimed sound.
Produced and recorded by Riley and Moore in their Denver, Colorado, home studio, the album gracefully combines Tennis’s classic indie-pop style with elements spanning synth-pop and subtle rock nuances. Moore describes it as their most confident work, one born from challenging times yet brimming with creativity and authenticity. The album features thoughtfully arranged songs rich in nostalgia, emotional depth, and unexpected melodies, signaling an elegant conclusion to their storied musical journey.
“The inspiration for new work came while we were still on the road touring Pollen,” Moore shared. “We felt a clear pull to write new music, but ran up against a series of bizarre setbacks. We blew tires and lost an engine. I developed a chronic illness. We took a doomed voyage that culminated in an attempted robbery at sea. Fragments of songs that first arrived like gifts from the universe later refused to be completed. Our days were awash in major and minor crises that dragged the album out endlessly.”
To complement the release, Tennis will embark on a farewell North American headline tour starting May 16 in Las Vegas. The tour includes stops at notable venues like Minneapolis’ First Avenue, Chicago’s The Salt Shed, New York City’s Rooftop at Pier 17, and Los Angeles’ Greek Theatre. Special guests Husbands and Billie Marten will join for select dates.
Fans will also receive a special parting gift: Neutral Poetry: First Recordings, Unreleased Demos 2009-2010, an EP featuring previously unreleased tracks from Tennis’s earliest days, dropping on May 16.
In announcing their hiatus, Moore poignantly reflected: “Patrick and I spent most of our 20s and all of our 30s focused on Tennis. 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.”
Face Down In The Garden serves as both a farewell and a timeless testament to Tennis’s undeniable impact on indie-pop. It’s a gentle, profound goodbye from a duo leaving on their own creative terms.
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