If you aren’t yet familiar with the duo of Tegan and Sara, you haven’t been paying much attention to the indie-rock scene. Hailing From Calgary Alberta, The twin sisters have garnered quite a lot of publicity in the past few years. With artists such as Alkaline trio, and The White Stripes recording covers of their songs. As well as Tegan Quin being asked by Tom Gabel to record a duet with him for Against Me!’s album “New Wave”.
They use these connections well on this album as it features “Death Cab For Cutie” guitarist Chris Walla, taking production duties along with the girls, as well as providing guitar, keyboard, and bass on selected songs. Death Cab drummer Jason McGerr provides drums on every track. While Matt Sharp(previously of Weezer) provides bass on all of Sara’s songs, and Hunter Burgan(of A.F.I.) provides bass for all of Tegan’s Songs.
Their 2007 release “The Con” is their first album since 2004’s “So Jealous” and shows undeniable maturity in the duo. Choosing to write their songs separately rather then collaborate with one another, “The Con” is an entertaining listen that never stays on the same foot for too long before switching things up. Although this does cause some issues with the album’s flow, overall this is an immensely enjoyable record, which shows definite progress to the career of this indie rock duo.
The album kicks off with the short “I Was Married”. At 1:36, this song introduces you to a defining characteristic in “The Con”. The songs never overstay their welcome. Often stopping a little sooner then you had hoped. “I Was Married” is a poor choice for an opener, as it possibly the least enjoyable song on the album. This song was written and sung by Sara Quin, the lesser of the two sisters when it comes to song writing ability. Her vocals on “I Was Married” are possibly the least enjoyable vocal performance on the record, opting for a higher pitch then her average singing voice.
Next up is “Relief Next to Me” another Sara song, Although this song stays on par with the rest of the album. The song has a rather nice acoustic guitar plucking along to a distorted guitar playing in the background with some light keyboard to the background, and while the drums do little to add to the song, they do their job.
The title track “The Con” is your first introduction to Tegan on the album, and is one of the most immediately accessible songs on the album. Starting with a guitar strumming along, and Tegan’s voice. You will realize that Tegan sounds practically identical to her sister, and at first you will not notice the difference, but after multiple listens it is apparent that Tegan possess a stronger range then Sara. Often opting for a slightly deeper singing voice, although the chorus of “The Con” shows off her range as she goes from high to low and back again.
“Knife Goes In” is another Sara song and is a rather enjoyable listen, with one of the catchiest choruses to the album. Although this song does nothing to distinguish itself you will often find yourself bobbing your head along to Sara’s words and the steady drum beat. After the song abruptly ends, you are thrown into the most experimental song on the album “Are You Ten Years ago”. Tegan starts off the song immediately with one of the most emotional vocal performances on the album. She utilizes more of a loud ghostly whisper that may send a shiver down your spine. Experimenting with a more electronic sounding drum beat that is one of the best drum performances on the album.
“I feel myself holding back, I feel the pressure, it's finally back, I'm taken
When you felt like this, when you saw it all come crashing down
Subtle but not underground, I was there
I saw the signs I saw unfair and so I wrote to you through other means
I let myself finally feel taken
Like I was yours”
Tegan sings these words with such emotion and panic in her voice it is hard not to get a little shaken up by it all. Relentlessly repeating the chorus “Taken I am yours/I'm up and doing circles.” It does get a bit repetitive, but it is surely the song you will remember most from the album.
One of the best examples of how this album struggles with flow is from “Are you Ten Years Ago” to the next song, “Back In Your Head” the first single from the album, it is the poppiest track you will find on “The Con” and one that you will find yourself bobbing along to as well. Accompanied with a simple three chord cheerful piano melody, Sara chooses to sing in a more poppy tone, and for this song it works. The Chorus “I Just want back in your head/I’m not unfaithful but I’ll stray/when I get a little scared” Is one of the catchiest on the album, may just be stuck in your head for long after the song ends.
“Hop A Plane” is the closest you’ll find to a pop-punk song on this record. With distorted guitar and a steady drum beat, Tegan croons away about a lost love. Tegan sings rather fast on this song and it is as catchy as they come, if you're not singing along to this song in future listens then their is something wrong with you. At 1:53 this song is one of the few that feels like it ends to soon and will leave you wanting more. Following is the equally short “Soil Soil”. The song is a piano ballad with Tegan begging her love to contact her. At 1:27 the song ends quickly, leaving you feeling satisfied with how you just spend your last minute and a half. Although awkwardly transitioning into “Burn Your Life Down” a more upbeat poppy song, it does nothing really grab you, Sara’s vocals are rather mundane and its just a boring song.
Semi-distorted electric guitar and Tegans voice start off the next song “Nineteen”. The song is as equally catchy as the rest of the songs on this album, and features the best drumming performance on the record. The song calms down for a while until we get some brief feedback and the song explodes, with the drumming taking centre stage, A very enjoyable song. “Floorplan” is the longest song on the album at 3:37 it has a nice guitar lick and as always, a great vocal performance from Sara. Their isn't a memorable part to the song, and as a whole it feels like a bit of wasted space between two very enjoyable songs. I believe that if Sara had of fleshed out the song more it could have been way more.
With a title like “Like O, Like h” I really didn’t expect too much from this song, but surprisingly it is Sara’s best song on the album and one that creates a very eerie atmosphere. Starting with a drumbeat, into eerily calm guitar picking. Sara’s voice sounds haunting, and definitely paints a haunting picture in your head. The lyrics leave much to be desired though, with a chorus like "Oh, oh, sugar spell it out/Like O, like h, in your gut" their could have been so much more with such a appealing atmosphere that Sara created to the song. Still an enjoyable listen however.
“Dark Come Soon” is probably my favourite song on the album, starting with just an acoustic guitar and Tegan’s voice before incorporating keyboards, and later the whole band. This is one of Tegan's best vocal performances and contains some very heartfelt lyrics. Near the end of the song, the band jams on a keyboard melody and guitar strumming for about 30 seconds until Tegan closes up the song. The Final Song “Call it Off” seems like more of an encore to “Dark Come Soon” then an actual closer, and is often overshadowed when listening to the album straight through, however by itself it is a catchy song with some vocal moments to it.
Out of all the “indie-pop-slightly-folkish” bands that are out their right now (and there are definitely a lot of them) Tegan and Sara is one of the most interesting. With catchy choruses throughout and great vocal performances there is something for everyone to love on this album. And although you may feel awkward about some of the transitions when listening to the album as a whole, you will realize that almost every song has something to offer.
Reccommended Tracks:
Dark Come Soon
Are You Ten Years Ago
Like O, Like h
Hop A Plane
4/5