Tennis Takes You on a Bad Vacation to 'Cape Dory'

Looking to get in the mood for summer? Tennis’s latest album,“Cape Dory,” will do the trick.

The product of married couple Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley’s seven month trip sailing along the eastern coast of the United States, “Cape Dory” has an old-school quality to it, crossing The Beach Boys’ vibes with The Angels’ vocals.

The album opener “Take Me Somewhere,” is a strong track with catchy hooks that set the mood of the record.

There are very few tracks that stand well by themselves, until you get to “Marathon,” which is easily the most engaging track on the album.

It carries feminine vocals on top of a modern tune.

It is the perfect lead in to “Bimini Bay,” which sounds like a calm, soothing lullaby. “Pigeon” is another well written track, discarding the nautical themes momentarily for a refreshing love song.

The album generally blends together well, but the flow is occasionally disrupted by problematic currents.

It’s not a great listening experience for someone who takes no interest in the ocean or sailing.

On the infrequent chance that the lyrics are not about nautical activities they’re mushy love lines. Towards the end of the album the catchy, stuck-in-your-head riffs start to get over-done, if they are present at all.

It becomes monotonous and predictable. In the final track “Waterbirds,” the lyrics “When you kiss me, you really kiss me” left me cringing. It consequently leaves the listener with a bad taste in their mouth if they don’t remember the earlier, more solid tracks on the album.

The talent is evident, but an altogether stronger track list is much needed.

I give them credit for the clever band name, Tennis being a game usually played by two people, the number of people active in the band, but the witticisms aren’t enough to save “Cape Dory” from its shortcomings.

2.5 out of 5 stars