Pollen
Studio album by
Tennis
ReleasedFebruary 10, 2023 (2023-02-10)
GenrePop[1]
Length35:23
LabelMutually 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.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic82/100[6]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
Exclaim!8/10[8]
Gigwise[9]
Pitchfork6.7/10[10]
Slant Magazine[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

  • Alaina Moore – vocals, synthesizers, piano, guitar and production
  • Patrick Riley – guitars, bass guitars, synthesizers, auxiliary percussion, drum programming and production
  • Steve Voss – drums and engineering assistance
  • Griffith James – ambient noise on "Gibraltar"
  • Alan Sumler – Latin translation on "Never Been Wrong"
  • Claudius Mittendorfer – mixing
  • Joe LaPorta – mastering
  • Luca Venter – artwork
  • Allison Freeman – artwork

Charts

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

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.
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