close-hauling with my darling

alaina moore is fucking adorable.

so i have been holding off on writing about tennis for a while now. first i wanted to wait until their debut Cape Dory came out, and then i wanted to wait until my lp arrived, and then i found out they were coming to toronto and decided to post on their show... and after this long, laborious crusade, we find ourselves here.

i'll open by saying that Cape Dory is, and will be, my favourite album of 2011. i love the band; i love their sound, their aesthetic, their husband-and-wife dynamic, their breezy sailing motif. all of this is delightfully true to form in their live performances. i had the chance to see them at the horseshoe last night and they were rather lovely. alaina moore is a bundle of energy in a flowery top and red bouncing red curls, stepping away from the keyboard when given the opportunity to prance about. and yes, her voice is more than capable of handling the lilting heights of even more difficult tracks like Marathon with ease. husband patrick riley was stalwart despite a somewhat sweltering stage temperature, with touring drummer james barone (i think - they've been through a couple) providing the swinging drumbeat that brings the band's sound together.

tennis' time on stage was necessarily brief - with only Cape Dory's 10 short tracks to work from, a few new songs they've self-admittedly pulled together on the road to round out their set, and a rather adorable cover of brenda lee's Is It True, the set lasted about 45 minutes. short and sweet was the name of the game here, with moore opening most tracks with a quick one-liner (Pigeon, the band's love ballad, was introduced with 'this song is about patrick', bringing about something of a swoon from the otherwise hipster-brand ambivalent crowd). Marathon, being the band's most-circulated single, naturally was the best-received by the crowd, and was arguably the highlight of the night; though i will always have a soft spot for Long Boat Pass.

touring mates holiday shores opened up the evening with with a young, beach house/the drums-sounding set. local talent (and apparently political players) the darcy's followed up with what i thought was a rather loud set, considering who they were opening for, but if that's your thing, you can download their latest 7" here.

tennis - long boat pass


tennis - pigeon

in poverty, my love, we have everything

young galaxy had the misfortune of releasing their debut self-titled album on the heels of psych-rock darlings mgmt's Oracular Spectacular; it unfortunately ended up slipping under the radar and went primarily unnoticed. unfazed by their split from arts & crafts and a mediocre response to 2009's Invisible Republic, they're back with a new album, Shapeshifting, and it is strong. the vancouver-based trio seem to have hit something of a stride, and offer up a series of catchy, meaningful tracks with well-layered instrumentals and the lovely, half-there half-daydreaming vocals that lend the genre much of its identity. this is dream-pop at its best, children.

young galaxy - we have everything


young galaxy - cover your tracks

only yesterday was the time of our lives

okay, let's get this out of the way early.

adele's 21 is good. really, really good.

the london-based songstress' growing confidence is evident on each track. we get some piano-based bread and butter on songs like Someone Like You and Turning Tables, and a little bit of that youthful sass on Rumour Has It and Rolling in the Deep. but what i really like about 21 is that as listeners, we get to watch adele stretch her wings, vocally and musically, and try out some new genres and sounds. it isn't always successful - Don't You Remember falls a little flat with overwrought vocals and a vaguely country guitar that wouldn't sounds out of place on a lady antebellum album (in case you were wondering, no, that's not a good thing) - but there are some wins here too. If It Hadn't Been for Love is a standout, borrowing from bluegrass influences with a maturity you wouldn't expect from someone who probably has never visited the locations she's crooning about. and let's all acknowledge that it takes a lot of nerve to take on the cure, and she does so with grace on Lovesong.

tying the whole record together is adele's uncanny ability to put together simple and yet poignant lyrics that are shamefully relatable. i had a song on 19 that stuck with me, emotionally, and i'd be lying if there wasn't one in particular off 21, too.

she'll be dropping by toronto in may, and you had better believe i have my tickets pre-ordered. get excited, people.

adele - if it hadn't been for love


adele - rolling in the deep (jamie xx remix)

was it too much too soon

 about a good 18 months ago, i came across a song called When They Fight, They Fight by a little trio going by the name of 'generationals', or 'the generationals', or something to that effect. i was smitten. i'm a sucker for a good 60's-era swing-style bassline, and this track did it justice and then some. borrowing from vintage acts and adding some new, 21st-century twists like intentionally distorted vocals and hand-claps, it was fun to throw it into a playlist to add a little jump, or to just play it really really loud when nobody else was around. i've since been trying to find a way to get a hold of their 2009 release Con Law with absolutely no luck at all, and it makes me sad. i mean, their stuff has been in a bloomingdale's ad, for christ's sake.

come on.

but when i'd just about given up on all that i hold dear, news from the webernets reached my ears that their follow-up Actor-Castor will be released in late march. better yet, they've proferred up a new single, Trust, which i see fit to gift to you,

generationals - trust


generationals - when they fight, they fight