#2. Anybody for doubles?

Everybody likes tennis. I like tennis, and in 2010 I also really enjoyed Tennis. This husband-wife duo from Denver put out a 7” single in July that has had the blogosphere buzzing for months in anticipation of their full-length LP, now set for a January release. Unable to decide which I like more, I am giving two-for-one honors to Tennis, with both the A- and B-sides of their single Baltimore coming in as the #2 song of 2010.

#2. Tennis - Marathon

#2. Tennis - Baltimore

The music on this single and the upcoming album was mainly inspired by an eight-month sailing sojourn that Tennis took up and down the Atlantic coast last year, culminating in their marriage in the Bahamas. Having recently enjoyed both sailing and getting married on the Atlantic coast – though unfortunately not at the same time – this is a concept album I can get behind.

Tennis sailing (from their Myspace)

Husband (me!) and wife sailing - kinda like Tennis

The songs themselves refer to places that they saw along the way: “Baltimore,” “Marathon” (in the Florida Keys, not Greece), “South Carolina.” The lo-fi aesthetic and basic construction of these pop gems evoke the simplicity of life at sea, though the lyrics don’t whitewash the attendant hardships. "Marathon" recounts one harrowing moment near Coconut Grove: “We didn’t realize/ that we had arrived/ at high tide, high tide/ barely made it out alive.” Arrival in Baltimore brought equally pressing dangers of a more pecuniary sort: “Can we get a job? / We’ve come this far/ is that asking a lot?” Reality has a way of intruding on even our most idyllic moments, but the life-affirming timbre of the whole album leaves an impression more of smooth sailing than sudden squalls.

With its endlessly catchy bass line and handclaps, “Marathon” is the belle of the ball, and right around 1:15 I usually get goosebumps. But don’t sleep on “Baltimore” either – like its namesake, the song is a bit grittier, but the fuzzy vocals and distorted guitar riff complement each other beautifully, especially in the chorus. Taken together, both tracks bear the hallmark of a vibrant, coastal sensibility that's as crisp and fresh as sea spray.

I passed on a chance to see Tennis this week on account of Monday Night Football. I won't deny that this makes me a boorish philistine - though unlike the Philistines of old, my team won (45-3!). Don't make the same mistake as I did; pause tonight's Celtics game for 10 minutes and give Tennis a listen. One of my favorite bands of the year, they've crafted masterfully emotive sea shanties and ballads for the modern spirit adrift - beating on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.