Tennis announce breakup, release new single "12 Blown Tires"
Indie rock band Tennis have unveiled their new single “12 Blown Tires” and unveiled some big news today.
“12 Blown Tires” arrives with a music video directed by the band, which can be seen here. Unfortunately, the new song comes alongside news of Tennis calling it quits after 15 years. Alaina Moore said this about the new single and breakup:
“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. 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.”
“12 Blown Tires” stems from Tennis’ final studio album Face Down In The Garden, which will be released via their own Mutually Detrimental label on Friday, April 25. Physical pre-orders for the album can be made here.
On May 16, Tennis will embark on their farewell tour featuring Husbands and Billie Marten on select shows. Tour dates can be seen below. Tickets are on sale to the general public right now here. May 16 will also see the release of Neutral Poetry: First Recordings, Unreleased Demos 2009-2010, which features a handful of previously unreleased Tennis demos.
Tennis tour dates
MAY
16 – Las Vegas, NV – Swan Dive *
17 – Salt Lake City, UT – Metro Music Hall *
18 – Salt Lake City, UT – Kilby Block Party #
21 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue †
23 – Chicago, IL – The Salt Shed †
24 – Indianapolis, IN – HI-FI Annex †
25 – Cleveland, OH – Globe Iron †
27 – Toronto, ON – The Concert Hall †
30 – Boston, MA – Roadrunner †
31 – Philadelphia, PA – Franklin Music Hall †
JUNE
1 – New York, NY – The Rooftop at Pier 17 †
3 – Washington, DC – The Anthem †
5 – Raleigh, NC – The Ritz †
6 – Atlanta, GA – The Eastern †
7 – Nashville, TN – Brooklyn Bowl Nashville †
9 – Dallas, TX – The Factory in Deep Ellum †
10 – Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall (Downstairs) †
11 – Austin, TX – Stubb’s Waller Creek Amphitheater †
AUGUST
18 – San Diego, CA – Humphreys Concerts by the Bay
20 – Los Angeles, CA – Greek Theatre
22 – Pioneertown, CA – Pappy + Harriet’s
23 – Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren
24 – Santa Fe, NM – The Bridge at Santa Fe Brewing Co.
26 – Denver, CO – The Mission Ballroom
28 – Boise, ID – Treefort Music Hall
29 – Portland, OR – McMenamins Grand Lodge
30 – Vancouver, BC – Malkin Bowl
SEPTEMBER
2 – Sacramento, CA – Channel 24 ^
4 – Saratoga, CA – The Mountain Winery ^
* w/ Special Guests Husbands
† w/ Special Guest Billie Marten
# Festival Appearance