By Michael Coleman and Monica Boland
On Tap takes a look at four local and touring bands each month. If you are interested in being featured, please send your contact information, including your website and a couple music tracks to On Tap's Music Editor, jon.kaplan@ontaponline.com.
Tennis
Web: www.tennis-music.com
Album: Young & Old
Show: Monday, October 8 @ Rock and Roll Hotel
Minimalist indie pop band Tennis is on tour promoting their sophomore album Young & Old, released in February. The Denver-based trio (singer Alaina Moore, her husband and guitarist Patrick Riley and drummer James Barone) are known for their sugary retro sound, first inspired by The Shirelles’ 1962 hit “Baby It’s You.” Tennis recreates the 60s girl group aesthetic on Young & Old with Moore’s lush vocals layered over catchy surf-meets-indie rock tracks like “Origins” and “High Road.” The album, produced by The Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney, offers seamless transitions between irresistibly fun dream pop songs. Pop ballads like “Dreaming” offer melodic waves of nostalgia – a crossbreed between The Beach Boys and The Chiffons with a little modern rock thrown in. The perfect soundtrack to a 1960s beach party, Young & Old debuted at number one on Billboard’s Heatseeker Chart and on CMJ Top 200. Tennis has performed songs from their new album on Conan, David Letterman, Jay Leno and Carson Daly. Catch them in concert at Rock and Roll Hotel – and pick up their first album, 2011’s Cape Dory (it’s full of romantic surf rock ballads like the absolutely stunning “Pigeon.”)-MB
Rock and Roll Hotel:1353 H St. NE, DC; 202-388-7625; www.rockandrollhoteldc.com
Blackie & The Rodeo Kings
Web: www.blackieandtherodeokings.com
Album: Kings and Queens
Show: Thursday, October 11 @ IOTA Club and Café
Canada-based Blackie and the Rodeo Kings aren’t exactly a household name in the U.S., but it’s clear that some of the most respected female musicians in America have a thing for them. The group’s new record Kings and Queens,an accomplished collection of country rock, finds the band collaborating with such alt-country icons as Rosanne Cash, Emmylou Harris and Lucinda Williams, as well as jazz singer Cassandra Wilson. “If I Can’t Have You” kicks things off, as the three-piece, all-male band works out an uptempo guitar shuffle with the unmistakable Williams. Williams’ winsome warble steals the show – and that’s the way it’s undoubtedly supposed to be. The bluesy “Got You Covered” features Cash, but her vocal contribution is more subdued than Williams’, almost relegated to a simple backing vocal. “Golden Sorrow,” the first ballad on this record bursting with talent, is a somber lament that showcases Wilson’s elegant, understated vocal phrasing. Throughout the record, the three-piece Rodeo Kings show they have the musical chops to do justice to just about anyone they pair up with. –MC
IOTA Club and Cafe: 2832 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA; 703-522-8340; www.iotaclubandcafe.com
Sea Wolf
Web: www.seawolfmusic.com
Album: Old World Romance
Show: Monday, October 22 @ DC9
Los Angeles-based Sea Wolf’s third album arrived in September, full of the moody textures and melodic pop hooks founder and frontman Alex Brown Church has earned a reputation for. After three years making music in Montreal, Church – who has used a rotating cast of musicians on each of Sea Wolf’s albums – returned to L.A., where he wrote and produced Old World Romance. A simple drum beat introduces the record on “Old Friend,” a mournful – but beautiful – lament. The song’s languid acoustic guitar establishes a tone for a record of remarkable consistency. On “Priscilla,” Church greets an old lover with trepidation. “Cold misty evening, I watched you walking up the path to the front door, footsteps in the grass,” Church croons. Although he self-produced “Old World Romance,” Church has worked in the past with producer Phil Ek, who has also produced Band of Horses, the Shins and Fleet Foxes. Sea Wolf would be right at home in a rotation next any of those acts. Sea Wolf’s introspective third record is full of allusions to love and loss, but heartbreak rarely sounds so beautiful.-MC
DC9: 1940 9th St. NW, DC; 202-483-5000; www.dcnine.com
The Static
Web: www.the-static.com
Album: While The Night Is Young
Show: Friday, October 26 @ The Fillmore (CD Release)
DC-area pop rockers The Static will celebrate the release of their debut album While The Night Is Young at The Fillmore on Oct. 26. The five-song EP is a rock ‘n’ roll dance party full of glam-powered, arena-rock sounds with a consistently catchy beat. The band’s first single, “So Wrong,” is a pop-infused rock song perfect for the dance floor. Frontman Joe Mach shows his vocal range on the emotionally charged “If These Walls Could Talk,” and Taylor Morden amps up the synth for the high-energy “Last Call.” While The Night Is Young was produced by Mitch Allan (lead singer of pop punk band SR-71) and mixed by Matt Rad (Hot Chelle Rae, Andy Grammer). The Static (including some former members of local band Hotspur) was signed to Allan’s label Guest House Entertainment in 2011. The stop-motion music video for “So Wrong” reached the Youtube Top 20 during its opening week in August.-MB
The Fillmore: 8656 Colesville Rd. Silver Spring, MD; 301-960-9999; www.fillmoresilverspring.com
