Earlier last year, you might have heard a track called 'Marathon'; an instantly infectious, dreamily gorgeous slice of perfect pop which set a tale of sailing the high seas to a glorious backdrop of chiming guitars, handclaps and Spector-esque “oooo’s”. As utterly captivating as it was transportive, the track was subsequently hailed by tastemakers and, in the process, throwing a spotlight on the band behind the song – the married husband-wife duo of Tennis. Originally hailing from Denver, Colorado, Patrick Riley and Alaina Moore started Tennis in a rather more offbeat way than most.

Bored of the 9-5 life, the couple decided to junk it all in, save up for a sailboat, and then embark on a lengthy eight-month voyage along the Atlantic coastline, documenting their trip in song along the way. Once word about their beautiful, shimmering doo-wop meets surf pop got out however, labels such as Underwater Peoples and Fire Talk came calling, with the band finally signing a deal with Fat Possum to release their debut album 'Cape Dory' early this year. Before all that however, Tennis are coming to the UK and Europe for a string of shows in January, beginning with their own headline show at the Lexington on January 7. 

WHAT'S…

...so special about you, then?

 Alaina has an amazing voice, and we play instruments?

...your worst vice?

Probably beer. Coming from Colorado, where there is the most micro-brewery's in all of America, we find ourselves drinking a lot of beer. Specifically, Great Divide I.P.A. It's magnificent

…your favourite sound right now?

Our favorite sound right now is anything that evokes comfort. Being on the road for a long time makes you miss a lot of the subtitles of a routined life. We try to listen to older stuff mainly, a lot of Todd Rundgren, The Clean, and recently, The Kinks. 

...your worst fashion secret?

I don't own a pair of jeans (Patrick). I can't stand how quickly they go in / out of style so I don't buy them.

...your favourite website?

We find ourselves on a few different websites fairly frequently. Cruisersforum.com is a sailing website for sailors to exchange information. It has been incredibly helpful. Gorillavsbear.net is our favorite music website. The guy who runs it is just posts what he like, nothing else. Wish everything was this simple. 

... the best thing about where you're from?

Probably the beer. It's some of the best in the world.  

...at the top of your shit list?

Twitter. Parking tickets... both rubbish.

...are you listening to now?

Julian Lych's 'Mare'. Such a great album. 

Why Tennis?

Because it doesn't say anything about us. However, we are finding ourselves in the predicament where everyone asks this question. It's kind of an inside joke. 

How would you describe your work?

Honest. We try not to use any production tricks to make our sound "bigger," or better, we just let it be. Really simplistic stuff.

Tennis' debut album 'Cape Dory' is released on Fat Possum in January 2011