|
|
|
Tegan And Sara - Sainthood
| Slantmagazine |
|
The moment the sweet-and-fuzzy slurry of "Arrow" bursts out of the gate, it's clear that indie duo Tegan and Sara are infusing Sainthood with the same '80s-centric electro pop that graced the Yeah Yeah Yeahs's It's Blitz! earlier this year. Given the already hyper nature of the titular twins' quick, poppy sound, one might assume that this post-new wave injection would possess an overbearing burst of doe-eyed gimmickry (too much puppy-dog, not enough punk), but the reality is quite the opposite. Keenly self-aware of their own too-cute personas, Tegan and Sara drive on with irony and heartache, mixing honeyed melodies and bittersweet lyricism into something surprisingly terse. The brief Sainthood is helped along by an efficient chain of songs, each one doled out hurriedly before the previous track's refrains can fade from your memory. With its mysterious saunter and slightly masochistic tone, the stuttering, brassy "Night Watch!" teases into one ear and out the other in short order, quickly making way for "Alligator," whose glossy strain invokes the best of early Madonna. The Quin sisters are always up for some good referential digs, be it to the Material Girl in the broken-strummed "Paperback" or to themselves when crooning "Go steady with me/I know it turns you off when I get talkin' like a teen" on "On Directing." In either case, the irreverent, snide wit and easy self-deprecation prove to be an effective, if surprising, fit for Tegan and Sara's brand of genial indie-pop, elevating Sainthood beyond mere snappy diversion....full text |
|
|
| Boston |
| This Canadian sister duo’s music has always been marked by introspection and darkness. But Tegan & Sara’s sixth album brightens things up markedly. This is a set of power pop with hooky choruses and chiming harmonies to go along with splashes of synths mixed in for throwback ’80s flavor (especially “Red Belt’’). It makes for a 40-minute blast of smart songcraft. “On Directing’’ has the rhythmic propulsion of early the Jam, and the bouncy “The Cure’’ (hmm, interesting title) features the line, “I know the world has not been fair to you/ I’ve got a cure for its crimes’’ (do share). “Northshore’’ is a shot of quick-tongued adrenaline. This is the first record the two have written together instead of individually, and it clearly makes a difference in the overall tonal quality. The delightful “Alligator’’ is radio fodder and might be a hit if it was attached to a one-named diva. Not all of this is gleeful, though. On the catchy, albeit rueful, “Someday,’’ Tegan sings, “I don’t want to know that you don’t want me/ I don’t want to know what you do without me.’’ It’s as true a lover’s lament as there is. Some older fans might think that the production by Death Cab for Cutie’s Chris Walla should be grittier, but that would betray the tenor of the songs. (Out tomorrow)...full text |
|
|
| Spin |
|
"I know it turns you off when I get talking like a teen," sings Sara Quin in "On Directing," a cut from the sixth studio album by Quin and her twin sister, Tegan. Turnoff or not, talking like teens is precisely what once distinguished this Canadian duo from a nation (a continent!) of similar strummers: On early records -- their 1999 debut, Under Feet Like Ours, and 2004 breakthrough So Jealous -- Tegan and Sara's lovelorn ruminations had a deceptively casual verisimilitude, with lyrics that read like instant-message transcripts and arrangements that gave coffee-shop folk some new-wave fizz. The siblings' intricate harmonies even served to replicate the overlapping layers of tenth-grade conversation. MORE TEGAN AND SARA: Tegan Quin, Augusten Burroughs With 2007's The Con, though, Tegan and Sara began pushing their music in a more adult direction, toward something darker and less innocent. "Remember when I was sweet and unexplainable?" Sara asked in "Back in Your Head," over an anxiously tick-tocking guitar and murmuring organ. "Nothing like this person, unlovable."...full text |
|
|
Go to "Tegan And Sara " lyrics