Tennis announce indefinite hiatus: “It has been the most joyous, bewildering, challenging, and humbling experience”
American indie duo Tennis have shared their new song, ’12 Blown Tires’, and also announced plans to end the band.
The group is made up of married couple Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley, who formed the musical project in 2010. Over the last 15 years, Tennis have released seven studio albums and toured the world multiple times, but the chapter is now set to draw to a close.
Only a week after releasing their latest album, Face Down in the Garden, Tennis have now shared ’12 Blown Tires’, which is based on a true story and according to the band, distills their career into one song.
Moore explained: “On a cross-country drive at the end of tour, our van and trailer blew four tires in quick succession. That particular stretch of highway was a tire graveyard. I counted the shredded remains of twelve tires from where we sat on the side of the road, swapping out our last spare. Our bad luck was heavily contrasted by the good night we’d just had in Houston.”
She continued: “The highs and lows of touring are unnatural, disorienting. On the shoulder of I-40, I began writing the lyrics to ’12 Blown Tires.’ It is a constellation of memories from the road, and of our marriage, two endeavors that are completely, hopelessly entangled.”
Reflecting on their career, she added, “When we recorded ’12 Blown Tires’ a few months later, I had the sense of distilling the past 15 years into four minutes of music. It felt like the end of something, though I wasn’t sure what. 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.”
Moore concluded: “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. In that light, the upcoming tour feels more poignant, like a concluding thought. These two kids from Denver who only ever dreamed of playing a few house shows are very fulfilled. Perhaps we’ll see you on the road. As always, thank you.”
Although Tennis don’t plan to release more music, they will be touring for the next few months across North America for an extensive final tour that will conclude in Saratoga on September 4th.
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