Albums : Tegan And Sara : Heartthrob
Listen To Tegan And Sara : Heartthrob
Who Are Tegan And Sara?
Tegan and Sara’s 13-year career has seen them build an avid global following of fans and fellow musicians alike. Their unique ability to bridge the pop and indie worlds has allowed their music to cross all traditional boundaries of genre, from being covered by The White Stripes to collaborating with superstar DJs such as Tiesto and David Guetta. Having sold nearly 1 million career albums and toured with acts from The Killers to Neil Young, Tegan and Sara are now positioned for the release of their 7th studio album – Heartthrob – as internationally-celebrated songwriters, performers, and artists.
Tegan Quin and Sara Quin were born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in 1980 and began playing guitar and writing songs at age 15. Following the release of their first independent full-length album, Under Feet Like Ours, in 1999, they caught the attention of Neil Young’s iconic manager, Elliot Roberts, who quickly signed them to his Los Angeles-based label, Vapor Records. Tegan and Sara’s first international release on Vapor, This Business Of Art, was followed by extensive worldwide touring, including opening slots with Neil Young himself and a first appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman.
In 2002, the band released If It Was You, a foundational moment in Tegan and Sara’s creative path and musical identity. Its fresh sonic template and critical success in the US set up their fourth studio album, So Jealous, which ultimately provided their global breakthrough. On the heels of 6 separate song placements on Grey’s Anatomy, a US radio hit in “Walking With A Ghost”, and a North American tour opening for The Killers, So Jealous cemented Tegan and Sara’s status as one of Canada’s pre-eminent songwriting forces and musical exports.
In 2007, the release of The Con brought even more critical and commercial acclaim to Tegan and Sara. The album was co-produced by Chris Walla, with members of Death Cab for Cutie, Weezer and AFI all appearing in supporting musician roles. Tegan and Sara’s most recent album, Sainthood, was released in 2009 and was accompanied by a self-published three-volume book set titled ON / IN / AT, which chronicled a year in the life of Tegan and Sara, in both words and pictures. Sainthood was ultimately nominated for a Juno Award and the Polaris Prize. One of the album’s singles, “Alligator,” was remixed by many artists including Four Tet, Passion Pit, Ra Ra Riot, and VHS or Beta, and the collection was released on vinyl in 2010.
In 2011, Tegan and Sara released GET ALONG a cd/dvd set that includes a live record and collection of 3 films that give a rare and intimate look into their lives and music. The first film, ‘States’ uses American touring footage and interviews; the second film, ‘India’ chronicles their first ever tour of India; and the third film, ‘For The Most Part’ is a special 1hr 10min stripped-down studio concert, shot with a live audience of 75 fans, friends and family over two days in Vancouver, Canada. The live record features music recorded during these concerts.
Tegan and Sara have played countless festivals around the world including Coachella, Bonnaroo, Glastonbury, Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, and have toured with artists such as Cyndi Lauper, Neil Young, The Pretenders, The Killers, Jack Johnson, Ben Folds, City and Colour, Death Cab For Cutie, Weezer and Paramore. Since 2003, they have headlined tours in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia, consistently selling out theatres around the world. Their music has been featured in major network television programs including 90210, Parenthood, Grey’s Anatomy, Veronica Mars, The Vampire Diaries, and One Tree Hill. They have performed multiple times on Letterman, Leno and Conan. They have collaborated with artists in all genres, from superstar DJs such as Tiesto, to seminal literary figures such as Augusten Burroughs. Their original 2004 breakthrough song, “Walking with a Ghost,” was eventually paid the high honour of being covered by The White Stripes.
Though their music is not overtly political, Tegan and Sara are very politically and socially engaged. They are outspoken advocates for LGBT equality, and have done countless fundraisers for youth organizations, music education, literacy, cancer research and LGBT advocacy.
The sisters enjoy reading, hair, ships, vampires, hot dogs, talking and relating to elderly people, self-soothing, rearranging furniture, and giving excellent advice.
Tegan lives in L.A. and Vancouver, Sara lives in NYC and Montreal.
Heartthrob Review
Whether they’re from the wrong side of town or just from Canada, heartthrobs have long been the pulse of pop music. They start the fire, the spin us right-round, they inspired Kelly Clarkson to quote Neitzsche. And now they’ve given Tegan and Sara a reason to dance. Their seventh studio album, Heartthrob, takes the indie-rock duo in a synthpop direction.
No song in their fifteen-year repertoire welcomes the transition more than “Now I’m All Messed Up”. The song blends the pacing of an R&B jam with the kick-drum exaggeration of a power ballad. “Why do I take this lonely road, nobody to walk with me?” Tegan wonders. At 33, the Sisters Quin are beyond hormone-soaked self-pity, but they’re savvy enough to channel it for a pop album.
The Quins’ distance from teenagerdom allows them to approach those volatile memories with deeper consideration. “I can’t live with all the things I say,” go the lyrics to “Goodbye, Goodbye.” They may be at a loss for words, but the delivery is clear and controlled and has never sounded more confident, backed by an enchanting production that illuminates Tegan and Sara’s bait-and-switch style duets. The words have plenty of room to dither and do whatever teenagers do — Tegan and Sara have the rest of the song on lock.
In this vein, Heartthrob counterbalances juvenility with an aged technique. Immaculate harmonies, taut call-and-responses, and major-key tenderness round out the album. This level of musicianship has been honed for years, from the surprising chord reversals on The Con to the studio flirtations on Sainthood so it’s unfair to call Heartthrob a departure — it’s more like a calculated step forward. And where the synths pause, a piano scale unravels. When Tegan asks “Do you remember?”, a bloom of harmony recalls. “I Was A Fool” takes a long look at failed romance through a dulcet split vocal. It sounds a bit like the Corrs, only it’s magnificent.
Heartthrob invokes somber, marble notebook dumps as truthfully as it portrays its lustier foil. “Closer” is, to paraphrase Lena Dunham, a “tits-out” tribute to not getting to know someone. “All I dream of lately is how to get you underneath me” Tegan sings. Tegan and Sara are more polite than Nine Inch Nails, but not by much. The single is the best pop song of 2013 so far and the credit is largely due to producer Greg Kurstin (Ke$ha, Kelly Clarkson). But “Closer”, and similar songs “I Couldn’t Be Your Friend”, “Drove Me Wild”, pull back on the reigns of contemporary schlock-pop. The vocals don’t compete with a rocket launch or dub-step drop. Instead, Tegan and Sara sound like La Roux crossed with Toni Basil. Genius levels of fun.
Who knew that the duo had such a flavor for bombast? “How Come You Don’t Want Me” flags down a douche-bag a mile away with a cocky chorus that asks: “Why don’t you want to show me off?” Declarations, accusations, and percussion punches persist on “I’m Not Your Hero” and “Shock To Your System”. If Pat Benatar and Neil Geraldo were reincarnated as an indie band from Canada — alas.
Heartthrob’s connection to music of the early ’80s isn’t trite – it’s a treat. The nasal/soft vocal switch off almost seems like the album itself is engaged in a private debate over whether “Time After Time” or “All Through The Night” is the superior Cyndi Lauper ballad – both influence Heartthrob immensely. But once you start there, a spectrum of coiffed divas come to mind. Ann Wilson’s undying vocal in “What About Love”. Madonna’s vulnerability on “Crazy For You.” In the early ’80s, these pop singers (notably Lauper) were often cited as latter-day ’60s girl groups. Today, one might say this was a stylistic (and sexist) stretch. The element both eras do share is their heartthrob-crazed context: The sweeping repetitions, the star-gazing, the high stakes, the cycles of deprivation and need.
It all circles back to heartthrobs — the fantasies that come and go as abruptly as the closing of a locker door. After all, the canyon between lust and heartbreak is the space all great pop songs occupy. Tegan and Sara have known this for a long time, but with Heartthrob, they fill the canyon with great meaning and melodies — enough to Flashdance from one end to the other and back again.
Essential Tracks: “Now I’m All Messed Up”, “Closer”, and “I Was A Fool”
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Sources : Tegan And Sara | Listen To Heartthrob | Tegan And Sara Biography | Heartthrob Review
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