Exclusive Song Premiere: ‘The Summer After,’ Tennis System

ABOVE: TENNIS SYSTEM

“Why call me after you said we can’t be?” Tennis System’s Matty Taylor sings on his lo-fi, sun bleached single “The Summer After,” making it clear from the outset that this isn’t just another jangly tune about falling in love with a girl. It’s what happens to summer romance when the seasons change. “Why hang around if all I do is bring you down?” With heavily reverbed vocals and far-off drums, the only thing that cuts through the falling-out-of-love murk is the single’s crystalline guitar.

Recorded under Michael Stock, founder of the showcase “Part Time Punks,” and Drew Fisher (The Melvins, Bleached, Babies), “The Summer After” captures the spirit of Tennis System’s new EP, Part Time Punks Session. The record borrows its namesake’s urgency, economy, and touch of angst. However, when it came to capturing the spontaneity of punk’s live shows, there were some technical difficulties. “This was the first time we played ‘The Summer After’ outside of practice,” Taylor says. “We had been working on it for weeks, getting it tight. And while the general idea with the Part Time Punks Session was to record everything in one take, the computer kept freezing every time we tried to record, so it ended up taking seven.” To be fair, though, seven is the number of punk legend New York Dolls’ live albums, so that must be a good sign.

PART TIME PUNKS SESSION IS AVAILABLE NOVEMBER 19 ON PAPERCUP MUSIC. FOR MORE ON TENNIS SYSTEM, VISIT ITS BANDCAMP.