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[one_half last=”yes”]TENNIS
Ritual In Repeat
Release-Date: 09.09.2014
Label: Communion
Tracklist:
01. Night Vision
02. Never Work for Free
03. Needle and a Knife
04. I’m Callin’
05. Bad Girls
06. Timothy
07. Viv Without the N
08. Wounded Heart
09. This Isn’t My Song
10. Solar on the Rise
11. Meter & Line
NBHAP Rating: 2,5/5
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Intact marriage
Husband-and-wife indie-pop duo Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley return with their third longplayer, two years after Young & Old. And it looks like these two are happily ever after. The title Ritual In Repeat doesn’t seem like a surprise right here. TENNIS repeat their well-known formula of sweet pop with ‘retro’ undertone. And once again Patrick Carney of THE BLACK KEYS helped shaping the sound as a producer.
Sweet like sunshine
Night Vision starts the album mysteriously at first but gets quite quick into familiar waters as TENNIS unfold a sweet sunshine melody. Never Work For Free hints into the same direction and is clearly orientating itself at the latest work of HAIM. Needle And A Knife adds full 60s strange to the equation while the smooth single I’m Calling even got an undeniable r&b vibe. The world of Moore and Riley is clearly a positive one.
To mean no harm
The music on Ritual In Repeat is sweet, gentle and harmony-loving. It’s TENNIS‘ biggest strength but also their biggest weakness at the same time. Especially in the second half of the record the concept starts to bore the listener. The music is harmless, replaceable and lacks of ideas and tension. It’s destined to get ignored at the end. Maybe it would be nice to add a few edges to the rituals because sometimes ‘being nice’ is not enough.
TENNIS’ new album ‘Ritual In Repeat’ might offer a few lovely pop moments but ultimately lacks of tension, ideas and exciting songs.
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