Almost exactly ten years ago, the Japanese indie-pop duo Tenniscoats stood at the peak of their creative powers and not only collaborated with Jad Fair and The Pastels but also with the Swedish post-rock trio Tape. The album »Papa’s Ear« was created in 2012 in collaboration with the very same Tape and some musicians from the Swedish jazz underground, and is now being released on vinyl for the first time. The gentle folk songs by the two Tenniscoats Saya and Ueno, sparsely instrumented with acoustic guitar, vocals and melodica, are arranged more lushly and even opulently in places by the guest performers. As with the eight-minute »Hikoki« with its organ, double bass, brass sections, flute solo and echoing synth loops, it can almost come across as overdone, but at no point does it seem overstuffed or purely distracting bombast. Rather, the guest artists underscore and highlight the strengths of the Tenniscoats’ songs, underline their warmth, their gentleness and sometimes take them in unexpected directions. Besides many little hits – first and foremost the sugar-sweet »Papaya« – bonus tracks come in the form of a Tenniscoats/Tape split single from 2008 with a cover of Ennio Morricone’s »Come Maddalena« and the dreamy »Lutie«, which wonderfully round off »Papa’s Ear«. Besides the musical pleasure, the album celebrates a friendly bond, a mutual, altruistic backing and the joy of creating something in commune that could not be accomplished alone.
Papa's Ear
