Tennis Sheds Their Sunny Sailing Image

In 2010, there were few bands as easily summed up as Tennis. The group’s super-catchy, sun-shiny Cape Dory was surely one of last year’s finer debuts, but its backstory — a record written during and about a six-month-long sailing voyage around the Atlantic — certainly helped bolster the buzz. Before long, sweethearts and bandmates Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley were signing to a hot indie label (Fat Possum), adding a new member (drummer James Barone), and hitting the road for a nearly year-long stint of touring.

Sonically, Cape Dory delivers a sparkling and summery selection of tracks rooted in the triumphs and struggles of Moore and Riley’s time at sea. The songs pull heavily from the pair’s sailing soundtrack (The Shirelles, Paul Simon) and, fittingly, feel right at home alongside Phil Spector’s iconic girl-group recordings. Today, though, Tennis is looking to shed the cutesy, seafaring image — or, at least, expand upon it. In early 2012, the band will release Young and Old, a sophomore effort that finds the trio embracing new instruments, new tones, and a new palate of inspiration. Better still, they’ve enlisted the help of producer/Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney to tie it all together. This Friday, the band brings both albums to life onstage at Velvet Jones. Below, Moore discusses the new songs, dispels a few Internet rumors, and explains where Tennis is finding inspiration off the water.

First and foremost, you guys just dropped a new single. Word on the street is that your next album is already done? Yeah. It’s been a pretty quick turnaround; we surprised ourselves, I think.