Los Angeles transplants Tennis System once had a reputation for shutting down shows with their relentless wall of noise. Fast-forward two years, and fans are flocking to their noisy, dreamy pop – think remnants of Nirvana and the Jesus and Mary Chain, with hints of the romanticism that makes Wavves and Best Coast so addictive. Thanks to that sound and ferocious live shows, Tennis System is now frequently plucked to share bills with bands the likes of Ty Segall, Wavves, Japandroids, Pains of Being Pure at Heart and A Place To Bury Strangers.
Matty Taylor, Misha Bullock, Christopher Norman, Marcus Price, and John Girgus are the driving force behind these dirty anthems, as cocksure as the Ramones and just as cool. But listen hard, and through the distortion, Taylor's threads of melody emerge; these are picturesque songs, full of woe, optimism and yearning. The first single off their upcoming album, "Hey, We Tried," is, as the Washington City Paper wrote, "the rare shoegaze song that manages to gallop."
The band was borne of gritty Washington, D.C., where a young Taylor steeped like tea in the music of Fugazi, Bad Brains and the many bands who poured into the city's famous 9:30 Club. When he met Bullock, a Brit and one of the best drummers D.C. had seen since Dave Grohl, the two bonded over their affection for reverb-drenched noise. Los Angeles denizens Norman, Price, and Girgus joined the band on the West Coast in 2011, propelling the band forward as a full-fledged L.A. band.
