Tennis Learn “How to Forgive” on New Single from Forthcoming Album Swimmer

Tennis are back with a new single from their forthcoming album Swimmer, set for release on Valentine’s Day. The husband/wife duo will begin their North American headlining tour in in Kansas City, Mo., on Feb. 25. The new track, “How to Forgive,” is the most recent of three advance tracks from the album (“Runner” and “Need Your Love” were released in early November and early January, respectively) is about moving on from tainted love and putting oneself first. Alaina Moore’s vocals shine with that girlish pop sound that made the ‘80s great.

“‘How To Forgive’ was written immediately after finishing ‘Need Your Love,’” says Moore in a statement. “I wanted a palette cleanser to get out of the headspace that song occupied, so I titled a blank page ‘How To Forgive’ and got to work. My plan was to channel early Madonna. We tried varispeeding the mix to simulate the girlish timbre I was going for, but ended up re-tracking the song in the highest key I could sing it in. The result is the most difficult song I’ve written for myself. Comping it was a nightmare and I really agonized over my performance. I wanted it to sound effortless, but it wasn’t. I started crying between takes of the line I’ve been questioning myself, convinced I wasn’t getting it right. We had a good laugh about that later. Patrick [Riley] re-comped my vocals while I stomped off to sulk. He used my first two takes, when I was still vulnerable, before I had gotten lost in my head. When he played back his edit, I loved it. It wasn’t the polished performance I’d wanted, but I loved it even more because of it.”

Listen to the single below and watch a 2012 Tennis performance from the Paste archives further down. You’ll find the band’s 2020 tour dates and the details of their forthcoming album here.