Indie-pop band Tennis, composed of husband-and-wife duo Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley, has announced that their latest project, Face Down in the Garden, will be their last. The band has combined their 80s aesthetic with vintage-inspired production and nostalgic lyrics for a perfectly polished synthesis of their brand. The album takes a deep dive into relationships and explores the effects of the duo’s music career on their marriage, the good, bad, and ugly.

It is clear that their inspirations come from the ’80s, beyond just their visual presentation. The band skillfully combines iconic retro synthesizers with live instrumentation from guitar, bass, and drums. The second single from the project, “At The Wedding,” captures such a specific nostalgic vibe with synthesizer string sounds and a bell melody that plays at the top of the song.

The chord progressions remain simple throughout the project, and dynamic contrast is created by adding or removing specific elements. This can sometimes make it hard to follow the form, for example, on the first single, “Weighted Desire,” where the song stays the same throughout the verse and chorus. When the track begins to feel monotonous, Tennis delivers a Phil Collins-inspired post-chorus that ropes the listener back in. It seems this was an intentional choice by the band, droney synths gently nudge the listener along for the ride, as opposed to an instrumentation that follows the lyrical arc.

Lyrically, the duo is able to show and not tell the listener how to feel and uses specific storytelling to imply emotions. The story of a bachelorette party in “At The Wedding” allows them to address their doubts about their marriage by watching a dysfunctional wedding unfold before them. They describe their discomfort at the musical choice, dinner toasts, and afterparty at the hotel pool, all for the sake of questioning if their own relationship will meet the same fate. The band also plays with repetition – on many songs, they will keep the verses mostly the same and alter a few lyrics to slightly alter the meaning of the stanza. This happens on another lyrical standout, “Sister,” where the timbre of Moore’s singing voice changes, as if she’s directly addressing “Allison.” Moore sings about how sacred that relationship is to her, and how the world feels so much simpler when they are together.

The final words sung on the album come from the song “12 Blown Tires.” “For me again, I go on counting / I see our fates go on colliding.”

After an album of songs about the uncertainty of long-term partnership and a love that is as intense as “a natural disaster,” it seems Moore concludes that, unlike her path with her sister, which is “intertwined,” the duo’s fates will collide in a beautifully violent way. The rough-around-the-edges vocal delivery on this track adds to this paradoxical longing and desire for a love she already has. The band plays out on the instrumental closer “In Love (Release The Doves)”, where the listener is left to reflect on the inevitable instability of being in love.

Tennis inspires the listener to hold on to those closest to them, a sentiment soundtracked by timeless instrumentals as they close this chapter of their musical lives.