We’re not even halfway through January and I’ve already discovered a great new band. Well, new to me that is. I was perusing Daytrotter when I saw a new session by a band called Tennis System. Really liked what I heard there so I checked out the band’s Bandcamp page and was blown away by what I heard.
I don’t know a whole lot about these guys that seem to hail from Los Angeles. But really, what do I care whether they prefer My Bloody Valentine to The Jesus and Mary Chain, or Rocky Road to Moose Tracks? What matters is that since 2010 this group of noise rock shoegazing eardrum destroyers have been putting out a cross between the melodic and the chaotic. The Future of Our History came out in 2010 and definitely leans more on the side of face melting guitar noise, albeit always with something that resembles heart-on-their-sleeve earnestness. Check out ‘Beautiful Mistake’ as a good starting point. Sounds like a collaboration between Morrissey and the Reid Brothers circa 89′. Something like ‘The Headmaster Ritual’ played through torn speakers covered in battery acid. ‘FS’ on the other hand has that My Bloody Valentine dreaminess to it. The calm before yet another storm. ‘Silver’ could be a Zen Arcade b-side. Part jangle and part Big Muff explosion. ‘Here’s A Thought’ brings up the Smiths once again, quite nicely. ‘The Web’ is nearly seven mintues and closes the album out in an early nineties guitar haze.
Where The Future of Our History relied heavily on guitar bombast and quiet/loud counterpoints, 2011s Teenagers is more indebted to post punk and shoegazing. I hear opener ‘Chop Wood Carry Water’ and I can’t help but be reminded of Wire’s more artsy moments. ‘Snowden’ sounds very much like someting Bradford Cox would’ve included on Cryptograms, or at the very least the Fluorescent Gray e.p. If you didn’t know, you’d think it was B. Cox on the mic as well. Not a bad thing. ‘Lovers and Fake Friends’ is beautiful track, all melancholy and longing. Something The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart wish they’d written. Then before you know it the drums kick in and we get some garage rock guitar squall. The louder moments of Loveless seem to have permeated Tennis System’s writing on Teenagers. There’s still some angst and punk rock tendencies, but the writing has been honed in and there seems to be more emphasis on a ‘mood’ here. I definitely hear a similarity to peers such as Deerhunter, and Japandroids in the more bombastic guitar moments. You can’t listen to ‘Hey, We Tried’ and not get reminded of Rainwater Cassette Exchange or Microcastle. But hey, don’t think Tennis System is merely copying Deerhunter. Not even close. Where Deerhunter like to meander a lot on their records -filling in-between songs with ambient noise at times- Tennis System keep the pace of the record moving with song after great song. Hell, I listened to Teenagers twice in a row and am going back for a third round.
If you love Deerhunter, The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart, Japandroids -plus classic post punk like The Smiths and Wire- then do yourself a favor and check Tennis System out. Their Daytrotter session is worth checking out. Once you hear that head over to their Bandcamp page and enjoy the tunes. It sounds like the band is in the midst of recording a new album too….so good news, everybody!!
Complex Distractions 