We Are Everyone

The first full-length Tenniscoats album, after two mini-albums (Theme Of Tenniscoats and The Ending Theme), still plays out like one of their finest, most considered collections, even in light of the relative flood of releases that followed. On We Are Everyone, they’re giving more shape to their soft psych-pop songs; they’re still gentle, limpid things, but there’s a richness to the way they’re played, and both Saya and Ueno are unafraid to experiment with what can be done to their base material. Saya’s melodies are crystal-clear, and are served beautifully by her singing, which has, at times, an almost jazz-like phrasing. There are a number of Tenniscoats classics here — “Tree Or Not To Be”; “Telen-Pa-Woo”; “Rind-Gand Rind-Gand Hearts” — but some of the most compelling moments are the unexpected, lonely ruminations dotted throughout We Are Everyone.