Tennis Face Down In The Garden
Tennis's Face Down In The Garden opens like a cinematic farewell, folding touring-weariness, marital ambivalence and wistful memory into sun-dappled, midtempo songs that often feel more mood than manifesto. Critics generally frame the record as intimate and carefully produced, and across six professional reviews the consensus score sits at 69.67/100, reflecting admiration for its atmosphere alongside notes of restraint and occasional placelessness.
Reviewers consistently point to the album's standout tracks when asked about the best songs on Face Down In The Garden. “At The Apartment” and “At The Wedding” emerge repeatedly as emotional centers, praised for lyrical honesty, sing-along choruses and Riley's shimmering guitar work. “12 Blown Tires” is singled out by several critics as one of the duo's most intoxicating moments, while “Weight Of Desire” and “I Can Only Describe You” are noted for their yearning production and subtle charge. Across professional reviews critics consistently praise the record's cinematic imagery - nature, memory and touring life - which gives the collection a cohesive, mournful beauty even when some songs land as surface-level mood pieces.
While a few reviewers find the album's emotional distance limiting, others welcome its elegiac restraint and regard it as a graceful capstone to Tennis's career phase. The critical consensus suggests Face Down In The Garden is worth listening to for its standout tracks and evocative scenes; detailed reviews below unpack where the record's quiet strengths and thin moments balance out.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
12 Blown Tires
4 mentions
"“12 Blown Tires” uses the experience of their tour van blowing tires on a cross-country trip as a metaphor"— Glide Magazine
At The Apartment
5 mentions
"“At the apartment we lay on the floor dissecting every sound,” Moore sings in her soft, angelic voice."— Glide Magazine
At The Wedding
5 mentions
"Riley’s bouncing bass grooves lay the foundation for “At the Wedding,”"— Glide Magazine
“12 Blown Tires” uses the experience of their tour van blowing tires on a cross-country trip as a metaphor
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
At The Apartment
Weight Of Desire
At The Wedding
Always The Same
Sister
Through The Mirror
I Can Only Describe You
12 Blown Tires
In Love (Release The Doves)
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 7 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
In a graceful, slightly rueful voice the review argues that Tennis's Face Down in the Garden excels as mood music rather than a revelatory artistic statement. The critic singles out “12 Blown Tires” as one of the duo's best songs, praising its intoxicating, soporific portrayal of crushed desire. At the same time, songs like “At The Apartment” and “At The Wedding” are described in the same breezy, evaluative tone - likable and well-produced but lyrically too placeless to resonate deeply. Overall the record is sumptuously produced, exceedingly pleasant, and fits queries for the best tracks on Face Down in the Garden while underscoring that its pleasures are chiefly surface-level.
Key Points
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The best song is “12 Blown Tires” because it crystallizes the duo’s intoxicating, soporific pop in a way the review praises as standout.
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The album’s core strengths are its sumptuous production and consistently pleasant, vibe-driven songwriting even if the lyrics rarely probe deeply.
Critic's Take
Tennis's Face Down in the Garden feels like a warm, wistful goodbye, and the best songs - notably “At The Apartment” and “At The Wedding” - show why. Jeremy Lukens writes with a fond, observant tone that lingers on Moore's soft, angelic voice and Riley's shimmering guitar, arguing these tracks crystallize the album's strengths. He highlights how sing-along choruses, jangly licks and pop hooks make the best tracks irresistible, while the two wedding songs center the record's emotional core. The closing instrumental “In Love (Release The Doves)” is singled out as a quiet coda that caps Tennis's fifteen-year run with grace.
Key Points
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“At The Wedding” is the best song because its bouncing bass and racing lyrical thoughts give the album its emotional centerpiece.
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The album’s core strengths are Moore’s ethereal voice, jangly guitar hooks, nostalgic lyrics, and warm retro production.
Themes
No
Critic's Take
The review for Austra's Chin Up Buttercup in Northern Transmissions is terse and informational rather than song-by-song praise, so there is no clear list of best songs like “Amnesia” or “Chin Up Buttercup” singled out. The outlet frames the release within a fan-focused context, which suggests modest approval but stops short of detailed acclaim. For readers searching for the best tracks on Chin Up Buttercup, the review does not provide the customary highlights or rankings, offering background about the site and its mission instead.
Key Points
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No specific song is identified as the best because the review contains no track-level commentary.
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The review offers general context about the site and modest approval, but lacks detailed critique or highlights.
Critic's Take
Tennis keep their cushy, sun-dappled mood on Face Down in the Garden, but it is the quietly charged songs that stand out most. The review highlights “At the Wedding” as a richly written centerpiece, and names “I Can Only Describe You” among the album’s best for its psychedelic, yearning production. Sam Rosenberg’s voice remains measured and a little rueful, praising how Moore’s honesty and Riley’s arrangements make departures feel poignant rather than merely mournful. For listeners asking for the best tracks on Face Down in the Garden, the record’s emotional peaks - especially “At the Wedding” and “I Can Only Describe You” - are where Tennis’ subtle strengths coalesce.
Key Points
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“At the Wedding” is the album’s emotional centerpiece for its rich writing and existential tension.
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The album’s core strength is its honest, wistful lyricism paired with comfortably warm, midtempo arrangements.
Themes
Fa
Critic's Take
Tennis make Face Down In The Garden feel like a film of memory, where highlights such as “At The Apartment” and “Weight Of Desire” twinkle like cinematic snapshots. Lucy Harbron’s prose leans into that montage feeling, praising the duo’s ability to let images and scenes float without overexplaining, which is why the best tracks land as vivid recollections rather than tidy narratives. The review points to instrumental moments like “Through The Mirror” as among the record’s high points, a woozy coastal interlude that exemplifies the album’s hazy charm. Even when a song like “I Can Only Describe You” falters, the overall sheen keeps the listener invested in the record’s nostalgic glow.
Key Points
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The best song feels cinematic and immediate, with “At The Apartment” serving as the clearest example of the album’s montage-like power.
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The album’s core strengths are its nostalgic, twinkling production and the duo’s intimate, scene-driven songwriting born from shared experience.
Themes
Critic's Take
Tennis's final album, Face Down In The Garden, finds its best tracks in the intimate, aching moments, particularly “At the Apartment” and “12 Blown Tires”. The reviewer's voice lingers on Moore's lyrical subtlety and the album's palpable sadness, noting how songs like “Weight Of Desire” and “At the Wedding” explore commitment and ambivalence with quiet precision. There is a tenderness to the production and a focus on emotional reality that makes the best tracks feel both grounded and transportive. This is described as possibly Tennis's best album yet, a farewell that honours craft over spectacle.
Key Points
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The best song is "12 Blown Tires" because it serves as the album's emotional climax and processes Moore's personal loss.
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The album's core strengths are Moore's considered lyrics, subtle sadness, and emotional realism grounded in natural imagery.