This live compilation captures the Tenniscoats playing superbly named venues, like Namba Bears and On Air Nest, across their native Japan between 2002 and 2005. The Tenniscoats are husband and wife duo Saya and Takeshi Ueno augmented by a revolving cast of musicians. They play an idiosyncratic brand of dreamy folk pop that is fragile at times and cloud-burstingly psychedelic at others.
Opener “Red Haired Eric’ showcases the band’ rollicking side with Ueno’ saxophone taking on an anthemic tone to match the propulsive drum beat. “Moshi-Moshi, This is Ueno’ is similarly upbeat, with the band launching into a groove that sounds like a proto version of Can’ “Vitamin C’. On “So Simple’ the group’ core pair are alone on stage, Saya’ unfeigned childlike vocals mingling with the curling smoke of Ueno’ sax.
The highlight of this disc full of ineffable live chemistry is “Ball Man’. It features a stream of consciousness melody from Saya, free percussion and an utterly blasted solo from Acid Mothers Temple’ Makoto Kawabata. It’s quite a trip.
