It's hard to follow up the record that made you famous. For many artists, that's their first album, and the disappointing results are termed the "sophomore slump." Luckily, Tegan and Sara's star-making Juno-nominated album, So Jealous, was their fourth--and their fifth album, The Con, not only avoids any kind of slump but sets a new bar of quality quite high. While both a darker and quirkier album than the near-perfect heartbreak pop of So Jealous, The Con skillfully packs its instant hooks in so tight, virtually every line becomes the one you want to sing along to--and the twins' lyrics aren't your typical pop pabulum. Layer upon layer of tasty ear candy coat considered sentiments like "Nobody likes to but I really like to cry," "I felt you in my legs before I ever met you," and "Maybe I would have been something you'd be good at"--lyrics that feel honest and add an emotional urgency and depth rarely heard on the radio. However, the biggest leap Tegan and Sara made on this record was not the lyrical content, but how the album itself was created. The switch to coproducing with indie superstar Christopher Walla (Decemberists, Death Cab for Cutie) is apparent, and part of what gives this record its distinctive and innovative touch. From the odd structure of "I Was Married" to the thumping electronica of "Are You Ten Years Ago," The Con reverberates with unabashed creativity, and it's a rare pleasure to hear it done so well. I would be surprised if another band this year made a better record--it's really that good. A special bonus for fans: don't shy away from the deluxe edition of this album--it includes a DVD with a feature-length intimate documentary on the making of the album, offering a lot of insight into their creative process. --Alan Wiley
Review by Marisa Brown
Although identical twin sisters Tegan and Sara Quin first appeared in the music scene in the late '90s playing the kind of folk-rock and folk-punk more associated with other Lilith Fair (in which they participated) artists of the time, by the time 2007 rolled around they had moved into much poppier territory. It was a progression, to be sure, from This Business of Art to their fourth Vapor full-length -- one that can be heard in the time spent on production, the louder guitars -- but that still may not prepare listeners for The Con. Produced by Death Cab for Cutie's Chris Walla, the album is full of quirky, Aqueduct-like keyboards, punchy bass from Weezer's Matt Sharp and AFI's Hunter Burgan, and even some guitar help from Kaki King that stretch and shove their way into the spaces between Tegan and Sara's hook-driven melodies and clean harmonies, more complex than anything they've done before. Though each sister writes and sings lead on seven tracks, it is Sara especially who writes the more intricate pieces ("Relief Next to Me," "Like O, Like H"), showing a more adult songwriter, one who has matured since her first work came out, while Tegan draws more from simpler emo and pop-punk arrangements ("Nineteen," "Hop a Plane"), her songs more straightforward, both compositionally and lyrically, than her sister's. But this isn't to say that there's a kind of disparity or harsh contrast on The Con. Much like the duo's voices, which share a timbre, a clear relationship, even if their actual tonality differs, the songs on the album complement each other, play off the other's strengths, and make the record very much an entity instead of simply a collection of tracks, setting it off as an impressive step forward in their already commendable discography.
Tegan and Sara
The Con
[Vapor/Sire; 2007]
Rating: 6.6
Tegan and Sara should no longer be mistaken for tampon rock, a comparison only fair because of the company they kept. Now the 26-year-olds have much more in common with 1980s power-pop, rounded with bubbly keyboard squeals, and they do this sound better than either Avril Lavigne or, say, Liz Phair. Some weird choices, however-- vocally, instrumentally, and otherwise-- mar their latest album, The Con. Yet the record's most interesting bits-- a keen sense of melody-- disappear too quickly and can't carry the album over its production bumps. The edgiest thing about the sisters Quin continues to be their haircuts.
The duo's 2004 album So Jealous had great moments, too. "Walking with a Ghost", a song later covered by the White Stripes, was perhaps its finest, if only because it showed how Tegan and Sara can add depth to heartache through keen observation. Such examples are everywhere on The Con: "When I jerk away from holding hands with you/ I know these habits hurt important parts of you," they sing on "Back in Your Head", a song that boasts the album's best keyboard lines. Lyrically, there are as many turds as gems though, and they usually appear within five words of the word "heart." "I want to draw you a floorplan of my head and heart/ I want to give directions, helpful hints, what you’ll be looking for," Sara pleads on "Floorplan". Maybe they should have called it "No Exit". It sounds like a rush of emotion, but flows awkwardly. There's an earnestness they'd do well to drop-- if they know love's a sham, and know the sham's a sham, then sing about that already-- but they don't. I can only imagine that co-producer Chris Walla (Death Cab for Cutie) contributed to the problem.
Tegan's songs are conventional, so they rely on embellishment-- like the Phil Collins-esque drums on "Are You Ten Years Ago"-- to make them more interesting. Her lyrical indugences can also be difficult to swallow. "Hop a Plane" does better for Tegan, because the line she repeats here is catchy enough to stay pleasurable over each iteration. Sara, who has the more strident voice of the two, writes their more complex songs. "Knife Going In"'s instruments drift out of tune, which gives it a seasick, disconnected quality. "Relief Next to Me" thumps like wet newspaper though, her weak similes never building up to a satisfying payoff: a big chorus, a cute melody. "Relief" gets one thing right though: When Sara sings about things "in the dark", you get the feeling that, for much of their young, female audience anyway, they can serve as a beacon.
-Jessica Suarez, July 27, 2007
http://www.myspace.com/teganandsara
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