“On a cross-country drive at the end of tour, our van and trailer blew four tires in quick succession,” says Alaina Moore. “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. 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.

“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. 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.”

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“Face Down In The Garden is our seventh studio album,” says Tennis’ Alaina Moore. “The inspiration for new work came while we were still on the road touring Pollen. 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.

“Patrick and I felt out of sync with the world, as though we had been ejected from the flow of life. My response was to bury myself in my own memories. Those years weren’t easier or better, but I could make sense of them. In Face Down In The Garden, I trace the arc of my life through a series of vignettes: a first moment of connection, a conversation at a wedding, a night offshore, a tour diary. We are very excited for you to listen, and look forward to seeing you on the road this year.”

Face Down In The Garden:

1. At The Apartment
2. Weight Of Desire
3. At The Wedding
4. Always The Same
5. Sister
6. Through The Mirror
7. I Can Only Describe You
8. 12 Blown Tires
9. In Love (Release The Doves)

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“Sonically, ‘Forbidden Doors’ filled out something essential that was missing from the record. I took my time writing lyrics that fit the world without altering it. The music gave me a sense of driving away from something. Patrick and I have done a lot of that– trading one city skyline for another, releasing something to make room for what’s next,” say the duo.

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SZA has shared a video for her SOS cut, ‘Kill Bill’. Taking inspiration from Quentin Tarantino’s 2003 film of the same name, the clip follows SZA as she exacts her revenge on her ex-boyfriend. Directed by Christian Breslauer, the video begins with SZA seemingly happily in love before her boyfriend ends their relationship. Immediately after the bombshell, SZA finds her trailer under siege by a pair of gunmen, sent by her ex. Determined not to be outdone, SZA takes matters into her own hands, suiting up with her sword and enacting her revenge. As you would. [via Dork]

In February, Margaret Sohn, who performs as Miss Grit, will release their debut album, Follow The Cyborg. Already we’ve heard singles ‘Like You’ and the title track. Now, Sohn is sharing a pounding, effects-laden new track, ‘Lain (Phone Clone),’ which has an accompanying video and was “inspired by Serial Experiments Lain, Yasuyuki Uedaʼs anime about a girl whose online self attempts to drag her physical self away from reality.” Sohn adds: “I feel like the divide between my inner and outer self can grow so big sometimes that it feels like I’m being eclipsed by this big cringey monster. I wanted to write this to mock the monster and remind myself I’m not powerless against it.” [via Stereogum]

MAY-A has kicked off a new chapter in style with her latest track, ‘Sweat You Out My System’. Fresh from touring Australia with 5 Seconds of Summer, MAY-A is back with an enigmatic new track. After a mammoth 2022 celebrating her incredible debut album, Don’t Kiss Ur Friends, she has begun a new era with the infectious ‘Sweat You Out My System’.  MAY-A has also shared an official video for the track, which you can check out below. On the track, MAY-A says: “Writing ‘Sweat You Out My System’ felt like it opened so many doors in my brain to other types of music I’m excited to make. A structured collage of rap-style moments, guitar riffs, yelling and hooks. SYOMS is pretty up-front lyrically, it plays on the idea of being completely addicted to someone: ‘Missing you like a little kid/waiting for you to get back/I wish for you in my veins/so addicted it’s insane.’ The whole song stays on theme of the feeling of trying to ‘quit’ someone (hence —sweating them out like drugs), because fuck going back!” [via Dork]

Breakout singer and songwriter Mimi Webb has released her latest pop anthem, ‘Red Flags’. The high-energy track gives fans another taste of what to expect from her forthcoming debut album, Amelia, out March 3. Mimi’s powerful vocals and lyrics are brought to life in the music video, directed by Drew Kirsch, as she takes viewers on a journey of hindsight, revenge, and reclaiming power that every scorned lover dreams about. The song was written by Mimi Webb, Connor McDonough, Toby McDonough, Ryan Daly, Castle, Cirkut, and produced by Connor McDonough, Ryan Daly, and Cirkut.

Chicago’s Bnny released an excellent debut LP Everything back in 2021 (via Fire Talk), and now they are sharing a new music video for their marvellous 2022 single, ‘Breaking Up’. The magically beautiful black and white visuals were directed by Weird Life Films. [via Acute Pop]

Emeryld releases her new EP, Bloodline, featuring the dynamic high-powered single, ‘Take The Exit’ accompanied by an equally hypercharged music video. She is the newest signing on Neon Gold Records, the record label that brought you Charli XCX, HAIM, MARINA, Christine and the Queens, etc.

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“We wanted to write a big album,” says Tennis’ Alaina Moore. “something suited for radio, but our songs don’t follow conventional pop structures. Instead of choruses with universal themes, I write with a specificity that is new to me, narrowing in on the smallest details of our lives. The more we try to broaden our scope, the more we turn inward.

“To keep ourselves from falling into old habits, we used instruments and gear that are new to us. We work alone and Patrick engineers. The sounds he creates are as foundational as any part he writes. We resist the urge to over edit or do too many takes. Unlike previous albums which have been more wall of sound, we make a point not to overpower my voice with a dense mix.

“We named the album POLLEN. It is about small things with big consequences: a particle, a moment, a choice. It is me in a fragile state; sometimes inhabited freely, sometimes reacted against. It is striving to remain in a moment without slipping into dread. It is about the way I can be undone by a very small thing.”

POLLEN:

1. Forbidden Doors
2. Glorietta
3. Let’s Make A Mistake Tonight
4. One Night with the Valet
5. Pollen Song
6. Hotel Valet
7. Paper
8. Gibraltar
9. Never Been Wrong
10. Pillow For A Cloud

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