Pollen (album)

Last updated

Pollen
Tennis - Pollen.png
Studio album by
ReleasedFebruary 10, 2023 (2023-02-10)
Genre Pop [1]
Length35:23
Label Mutually Detrimental
Producer
  • Alaina Moore
  • Patrick Riley
Tennis studio albums chronology
Swimmer
(2020)
Pollen
(2023)
Singles from Pollen
  1. "One Night with the Valet"
    Released: November 15, 2022
  2. "Let's Make a Mistake Tonight"
    Released: January 10, 2023
  3. "Forbidden Doors"
    Released: February 1, 2023

Pollen is the sixth studio album by the musical duo Tennis, released via their own label Mutually Detrimental on February 10, 2023. [2] It was preceded by the singles "One Night with the Valet", [3] "Let's Make a Mistake Tonight", [4] and "Forbidden Doors". [5] The album received acclaim from critics.

Contents

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 82/100 [6]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [7]
Exclaim! 8/10 [8]
Gigwise Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [9]
Pitchfork 6.7/10 [10]
Slant Magazine Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [11]

Pollen received a score of 82 out of 100 based on four critics' reviews on review aggregator Metacritic, indicating "universal acclaim". [6] Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Tim Sendra opined that Pollen's main point of difference in Tennis' catalogue is its "occasional distorted guitar, a little more bump in the rhythm section, and overall punchier production" and that while the "small deviations might feel drastic at first, [...] the sum of the parts is still as pleasant as ever once the album ends". [7]

Everett Amber Ellis of Exclaim! found the album, along with its predecessor Swimmer , to be "indebted to the sparkle of the '80s—albeit the more restrained and sophisticated side of a decade infamous for its more gaudy tastes", and "front-heavy as most Tennis albums are", writing that its "highlights lie largely in its singles". [8] Evie Gower of Gigwise described the album as "filled to the brim with dream pop synthesisers and a melding of strings, a mixture of classical and contemporary components that make Alaina Moore's voice as ethereal as ever", as well as a "funky backdrop of various instruments and vocal tones" with lyrics that feel like "a love letter to the highs and lows of life". [9]

Eric Mason of Slant Magazine wrote that Moore and Riley "take one step closer to the present by interspersing their 20th-century callbacks with nods to turn-of-the-millennium pop-rock" on Pollen, finding the "common thread" that ties the album's songs together is "escapism, whether it be the isolation of the open sea or the insular behind-the-scenes goings on of a hotel". [11] Adlan Jackson of Pitchfork felt that the duo's "persistent melodies quiver with the same earnestness as always, and their self-production continues to hit its stride", elaborating that "the overall airiness on Pollen gives the sense that Tennis are continuing to have a blast making music that glides from one hook to the next." [10]

Track listing

All tracks are written by and produced by Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley.

Pollen track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Forbidden Doors"3:54
2."Glorietta"4:01
3."Let's Make a Mistake Tonight"4:14
4."One Night with the Valet"1:53
5."Pollen Song"3:53
6."Hotel Valet"3:54
7."Paper"3:00
8."Gibraltar"3:57
9."Never Been Wrong"3:26
10."Pillow for a Cloud"3:11
Total length:35:23

Personnel

Charts

Chart performance for Pollen
Chart (2023)Peak
position
US Top Album Sales ( Billboard ) [12] 65

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References

  1. Pollock, Jim (February 9, 2023). "Review: Tennis continues to chart its own course on 'Pollen'". Associated Press . Retrieved February 12, 2023 via ABC News. The nine meticulously crafted pop songs on this album come across light and breezy
  2. Kenneally, Cerys (January 10, 2023). "Tennis unveil new single 'Let's Make a Mistake Tonight'". The Line of Best Fit . Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  3. Russell, Scott (November 15, 2022). "Tennis Announce New Album Pollen, Share Dreamy Lead Single 'One Night with the Valet'". Paste . Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  4. Golsen, Tyler (January 11, 2023). "Tennis share new single 'Let's Make a Mistake Tonight'". Far Out Magazine. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  5. "Indie-Pop Duo Tennis Release New Single 'Forbidden Doors'". Wonderland Magazine. February 2, 2023. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  6. 1 2 "Pollen by Tennis Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic . Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  7. 1 2 Sendra, Tim. "Tennis – Pollen Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic . Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  8. 1 2 Ellis, Everett Amber (February 8, 2023). "Tennis Move Forward While Looking Back on the Glitzy 'Pollen'". Exclaim! . Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  9. 1 2 Gower, Evie (February 9, 2023). "Album Review: Tennis – Pollen". Gigwise . Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  10. 1 2 Jackson, Adlan (February 13, 2023). "Tennis: Pollen Album Review". Pitchfork . Retrieved February 13, 2023.
  11. 1 2 Mason, Eric (February 6, 2023). "Tennis Pollen Review: Elegiac Escapism That Nods to the Recent Past". Slant Magazine . Retrieved February 12, 2023.
  12. "Top Album Sales: Week of February 25, 2023". Billboard . Retrieved February 24, 2023.