Tennis release their final album Face Down in the Garden and announce farewell tour

Tennis have released what will be their final studio album, Face Down in the Garden, via their own label Mutually Detrimental.

The record arrives as a culmination of the band’s 15-year career and marks the end of an era for the husband-and-wife duo Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley, who formed the group in 2010.

Produced and recorded at home in Denver, Face Down in the Garden distills the band’s sound across their three established sounds, Brill Building pop, synth-pop and guitar-driven rock, into one final, reflective collection.

“We wanted to write ourselves off the map by doing the unexpected thing,” said Moore. “Despite being rattled by a strange year, it is our most confident album.”

That year included blown tires, an engine breakdown, a chronic illness and an attempted robbery at sea. The songs that emerged from that chaos, according to Moore, are “vignettes” that trace her life: “a first moment of connection, a conversation at a wedding, a night offshore, a tour diary.”

The pair announced earlier this month that they’ll be stepping away from Tennis following a final run of shows. Their North American farewell tour begins 16th May in Las Vegas and wraps in Saratoga, California on 4th September, including stops at First Avenue in Minneapolis, New York’s Rooftop at Pier 17, and the Greek Theatre in LA. Billie Marten and Husbands will support across various dates.

To bookend the milestone, Tennis will also release Neutral Poetry: First Recordings, Unreleased Demos 2009–2010, a new eight-track EP collecting early four-track recordings from the project’s formation. That release lands 16th May, the same day the tour begins.

Reflecting on the journey, Moore added: “Patrick and I spent most of our 20s and all of our 30s focused on Tennis. After finishing Face Down in the Garden, it became clear that we had said everything we wanted to say… These two kids from Denver who only ever dreamed of playing a few house shows are very fulfilled.”

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