Face Down In The Garden

Man, Face Down in the Garden hit me way harder than I thought it would — and not in a good way. Not just because it's Tennis' last project (at least in this lineup), but because it kinda feels like they’re going out with a shrug instead of a bang.

Tennis has always been one of those bands I turn to when I need something dreamy but still catchy — they’ve got that sweet spot between indie pop and a little bit of that vintage singer-songwriter vibe. Early on, they had this raw, slightly rocky thing going on that made their music feel super personal. Then they gradually started weaving in synths and getting a little more polished, but it worked. It felt like growth, not selling out.

But this time around, it just... doesn't land. Face Down in the Garden sounds like a band that's fully out of gas. It's not like anything here is bad exactly — the songs are fine. They're easy to listen to, nobody’s hitting bum notes or anything. But that magic Tennis usually brings? It's missing.

The songs bleed together in a way that's honestly kind of sad. Tracks like "At The Apartment" and "At The Wedding" almost sound copy-pasted, and the whole album just sort of floats by without leaving much of an impression. The spark — that playful, colorful texture that used to light up their records — is barely there. Even Alaina’s vocals, which are usually a total standout, feel kind of... routine? She sounds good, but not alive the way she used to on tracks like “Needle and a Knife” or “Runner.”

Lyrically, you can tell they know this is the end. A lot of the album circles around themes like the slow death of relationships and that heavy, stuck feeling you get when something’s run its course. Honestly, the music matches that vibe a little too well — the whole thing feels stagnant, like they're waving goodbye not just to each other, but to whatever creative fire they had left.

I don't blame them for wanting to call it quits if this is where their heads (and hearts) are at. In a weird way, I'm glad they're not dragging it out with a bunch of mid albums trying to chase what they used to have. It just sucks that the final chapter is more of a quiet fade-out than the big, emotional send-off they deserved.

TENNIS - FACE DOWN IN THE GARDEN
RATING - 7.6/10

FAVORITE TRACK - N/A

GENRE - Alternative/Indie