Song Rec of the day: Tennis’ “Runner” off their 2020 Swimmer album

By Wisdom Akpan

It’s a common strategy for modern Indie Pop acts to build their sound around evoking nostalgia. But few can summon past-gazing reflection with the spirit and bounce the duo Tennis are able to bring in their song Runner. 

Rather than let the catchy underlying lick sit on its own the song immediately jumps in with a groovy rhythm for lead singer, Alina Moore’s distant but soulful voice to glide on.  Pairing her complex mid-fidelity synths with Patrick Riley’s phaser laden guitar chords creates an almost continuous spectrum of sound. The bopping kick drum and bass during the chorus really solidifies the song as an energetic anthem by design. And all the lyrical references to effort and sweat make it unironically a good to workout to!