TENTS is a surprising departure from Northwest based indie pop. The band, based in Portland Oregon, serves up neighborhood nostalgia with a slant. Melancholy is a theme, both musically and lyrically, but the music doesn't dwell on pain. Thick harmonies and bouncy grooves float the listener towards jubilance.
TENTS is a family band. Vocalists Amy and Brian are partners and parents. They are joined by Guitarist/producer Chris Hall, and most recently by Joe Greenetz (Sherwood) on drums and Matt Taylor (Motion City Soundtrack) on bass.
Active in Portland and up and down the west coast, TENTS has shared the stage with the likes of Ten Fe, Nyles Lannon (Film School), Frankie Simone, and Kelli Schaefer. Their debut LP, Deer Keeps Pace, came out on May of 2018 via Badman Recording Co. The band has since built a solid and eager fanbase, with 175k streams and a strong presence on Instagram.
Also an audiovisual experiment, many of their songs are written like a soundtrack to videos they make. They produce a Youtube series called "Making Medicine" in which they document said experiments.
Their new album, Medicine, will be released through Badman Recording Co. (STRFKR, Mark Kozelek, The Builders and the Butchers) on October, 11, 2019. The band will be supporting it with several videos and West Coast tour dates in fall.
Magic spouts effortlessly through this music. It feels like a bunch of kids laughing and shouting from the recesses of a playground, inviting the cynics and the skeptics and the wallflowers to join the fun.
"Finding light in the darkness, Tents strive to capture the sanctity they've found in each other and share it with the listener." - Amazon
Medicine is the sophomore effort of Portland based outfit, TENTS. It is a fist fight between melancholy and resolve.
Medicine sounds like an indie record that was made in the Northwest. The hooks, the production, and the sensibilities are of the fold. The sentiment, however, is not. It is on the front foot. It is brave, celebratory, and intent. In Medicine, TENTS departs.
Most of the songs on Medicine were conceived, not unlike a soundtrack, to videos Brian Hall created.
"Hutah!" is about body positivity and the beauty of life. It started with a friend dancing in an abandoned warehouse. "Insert some Quarters" is a call to action littered with 90's movie and tv references. It started with footage of Golden Gate Park captured during a west coast stint. "Joy!" was written to footage of Hall jumping in to a kiddy pool.
The kiddy pool is paramount, as is the notion of playfulness. Not as a form of escape, but as a way to ground oneself. Parenthood has been a big turning point for TENTS. Throughout Medicine, Brian embodies a broken hearted father drawing on the buoyancy of his children. "Parenthood has gotten me outside myself. I've let go of some grief," says Hall.
The images that inspired Medicine resonate. The album scales many different terrains. At times full of joy, at others grief, these songs visit pain, but they erupt from inside of it, presenting the listener with the notion that life is full of beauty and meaning.
TENTS is Amy, Chris, and Brian Hall, joined by drummer Joe Greenetz (Sherwood) and Bassist, Matt Taylor (Motion City Soundtrack). Remi Aguilella (Daughter) also played Drums on Medicine.
"Finding light in the darkness, Tents strive to capture the sanctity they've found in each other and share it with the listener." - Amazon
Medicine will be released through Badman Recording Co. (STRFKR, Mark Kozelek, The Builders and the Butchers) on October, 11, 2019. The band will be supporting it with several videos and West Coast tour dates in Fall.
Watch the "Medicine" music video.
Medicine - TRACKLISTING
01. Medicine
02. Hutah!
03. Cashmere
04. 14 Years
05. Joy!
06. Insert Some Quarters
07. Sunlight Rays
08. Champ Call
09. Gold Teeth
10. Water Flowing Underneath
