Tennis

La Sera

Pop Addict: La Sera’s Sees the Light

Every other week, Pop Addict presents infectious tunes from contemporary musicians across indie rock, pop, folk, electronica, and more.

La Sera: Sees the LightLa Sera: Sees the Light (Hardly Art, 3/27/12)

La Sera: “Please Be My Third Eye”

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When she’s not making lo-fi garage rock as the bassist of Brooklyn trio Vivian Girls, Katy Goodman has been keeping busy with her solo project, La Sera. Last year’s solid self-titled debut showed a more pared-down side to Goodman, as the album was loaded with an arsenal of dreamy indie folk. This year, La Sera has shifted directions a bit, and her latest effort, Sees The Light, is packed full of upbeat, peppy indie-pop gems.

Hospitality

Pop Addict: Hospitality’s Hospitality

Every other Thursday, Pop Addict presents infectious tunes from contemporary musicians across indie rock, pop, folk, electronica, and more.

Hospitality: HospitalityHospitality: Hospitality (Merge, 1/31/12)

Hospitality: “Friends of Friends”

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When Brooklyn’s Hospitality surfaced in 2008 with a six-song EP produced by Karl Blau, there was, naturally, immediate blogosphere buzz surrounding the band. Its poppy, minimalist sensibility catered to the indie-pop avenues it was exploring. The songs were spirited, displaying immense capability and promise. With that potential and talent came a signing to Merge Records and the band’s proper debut LP (produced by Shane Stoneback), which revives several songs from the EP while adding a few more, just for good measure.

From the moment that the album starts, there is something very warm and welcoming about the arrangement and composition. Album opener “Eighth Avenue” starts with acoustic strumming and persistent, steady drumming, immediately calling to mind early Belle and Sebastian work. The song builds gradually, integrating keyboards, harmonies, feedback, and percussive ornamentation, but it never strays far from its sunny-day feel. It is a laid-back indie-pop treasure that is sure to give first-time listeners a reason to give the rest of the album a chance. And once that happens, you’re roped in for the duration of the record.

Tennis

Pop Addict: Tennis’ Cape Dory

Tennis: Cape DoryTennis: Cape Dory (Fat Possum, 1/18/11)

Tennis: “Long Boat Pass”

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Fiction is at the heart of pipe dreams. Rarely when we scheme something far-fetched or grandiose do we actually follow through in executing our plan, especially if it’s something as profound as selling all of our possessions and sailing across the map for about a year or so. But that is precisely what husband-and-wife duo Patrick Riley and Alaina Moore, the masterminds behind indie-pop outfit Tennis, did.

After graduating from college, the two philosophy majors sold their belongings and ventured away from Denver to embark on the unknown by means of a sailboat — a plan for which they prepared extensively. Navigating around North America, the couple then decided to document the experience, not through film or memoir, but through music. And thus Tennis was born.

From the get-go, Cape Dory, the couple’s debut effort on Fat Possum, gives you a glimpse of what its voyage must have been like. With 10 songs clocking in at less than 30 minutes, Riley and Moore’s feeling of staying put for too long in any one place is almost tangible. Once the album sets sail, it’s ready to move along without the need of staying anchored in any one spot. The songs, with titles like “South Carolina,” “Baltimore,” and “Bimini Bay,” move along swiftly, as the band looks to cover the most ground (or water, rather) in the quickest amount of time.