Tennis at the Casbah

The past few years in indie music have belonged to bands such as Vampire Weekend, who celebrate the fashion and sensibilities of East Coast trust-fund kids. But in recent months, we’ve become aware of how the interests of the rich increasingly dominate our political sphere. Do we have to let them take over our music, too?

Consider the indie-pop duo Tennis. After graduating from college in Colorado, Patrick Riley and Alaina Moore decided that they would buy a boat and spend most of a year sailing down the East Coast. When they got back they formed Tennis so they could commemorate the experience in song. It all seemed nice enough when Riley and Moore released their full-length debut, Cape Dory, earlier this year. I’m not sure it’s such a good fit for today. I mean, a band called Tennis, singing songs about yachting? How one-percent can you get?

Maybe I’m not being fair. Riley and Moore didn’t just pick up the boat with their trust-fund dough — reportedly, they sold everything they had in order to afford it, and they didn’t even know how to sail. More importantly, Cape Dory is a lovely collection of catchy tunes in a relaxed style that resembles what Beach House would sound like if they tweaked their antidepressants and listened to ’60s girl groups. It’s retro but a little bit weird. So maybe Tennis won’t be writing the next anthem for Occupy Denver demonstrations, but neither are they likely to play the Christmas party at Goldman Sachs. It will be interesting to hear how Riley and Moore’s songwriting develops, now that they’re spending more time back on land.

Miniature Tigers and Devon Williams also perform.

TENNIS: The Casbah, Thursday, December 8, 8:30 p.m. 619-232-4355. $12 advance; $14 day of show.