Tegan and Sara – The Con

To tell you the truth I’m not sure which one is Tegan, or for that matter who Sara is. Yes, I have seen some captioned picture of them being all cute and stuff, but I still can’t identify their voices as unique entities. However, when the twins join together in their pseudo-harmonies, I become mystified as to why it sounds so good. On their fourth full-length album, The Con, the sisters’ Quin early output of Lilith Fair rock and 80s wannabe riffs is a distant memory. Their sound has been expanded and refined with some outstanding production and the best writing of their career.

Produced by Death Cab for Cutie’s Christopher Walla, the album is a retooling of the duo’s power-pop, filtered through bursts of elastic bass (thanks to AFI’s Hunter Burgan and post-Weezer Matt Sharp), alongside some quirky keyboard parts. The off-tempo relationship between the sister’s vocals and the rest of the band create a sound that is familiar, yet separate from the more straightforward indie pop of Death Cab. The way in which the album builds to finality, on tracks like Dark Come Soon and Call It Off, bears the greatest earmarks of Walla’s production. Overall the album is a marked improvement from their previous recordings. With every album Tegan and Sara has reworked and expanded their musical territory. Rilo Kiley should have left More Adventurous for these girls, The Con really is an outstanding pop record.
8.5/10