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Product Description
Review
Much has been written about Tegan and Sara, and frequently the words 'pop' and 'music' creep in. The Canadian duo's last album, 2004's So Jealous, was packed full of pop-hook laden songs, perky and at times unnecessarily emotion-fuelled. This, their fifth studio album, retreats from frontline pop and explores more subtly murkier and coarse territory.
Produced by Chris Walla (Death Cab For Cutie), whose Death Cab influence sneaks in on more reflective tracks such as Soil Soil, The Con is a remarkable collection of songs that refuses to settle on one musical style. Tegan and Sara do not turn their backs on pop entirely. Single, Back In Your Head, with its childlike keyboard refrain is as carefree and fun as ever. But here playful tracks possess a wry knowingness; pop references are more considered and less earnest. Such non-descript tags as 'emo-core' and 'new-wave' seem no longer relevant.
The second single and title track has a Joseph Arthur/TV On The Radio epic quality while Floorplan with its Eels' God Damn Right (It's A Beautiful Day) laidback-feel is sunnily suave. The pitter-patter guitar riff in the verse of Relief Next To Me has a haphazard, cross-eyed feel and is delivered in a pleasingly nonsensical Spinto Band, Brown Boxes fashion. Central to the Tegan and Sara sound is the sharp forthright vocals. The duo's trademark claustrophobically intense harmonies and shrill tone evokes The Knife on the uncomfortable electro-underlined 'Are You Ten Years Ago.
Throughout The Con Tegan and Sara navigate a course that is both experimental and faithful to their pop music past. Alongside the lighter, less emotionally fraught leanings is a countering sharpness that cuts to the quick. With chameleonic deftness, Tegan and Sara have created a mystifyingly absurd but extraordinary album. --Gemma Padley
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
The world of pop could use a lot more pop like Tegan and Sara's, and less posturing on MTV with a computerized voice.
And the identical twins show even greater variety in their fifth full-length album, three years after the Juno-nominated "So Jealous." In "The Con," they basically polish their existing guitar pop, but fill the sprightly melodies with confusing experiences and sorrowful romances.
It opens with a delicate piano ballad, framing a pretty, poignant song about the confusion and struggles of gay people. "To my heart confusion rose against/the muscles fought so long/to control against the pull of one/magnet to another magnet to another magnet," Tegan and Sara Quin sing together in shifting melodies. "I look into the mirror/for evil that just does not exist..."
Things get much more sprightly for the swirling pop of "Relief Next to Me," or the songs that it lays the groundwork for: rapid-fire dancepop, mellow piano ballads, bouncy little indie melodies, mellow acoustics, dark urgent pop stabbed with drumbeats, and energetic powerpop that doesn't let its bounciness keep it from staying intense.
Don't listen to "The Con" just once. Listen at least twice.
On the first listen you hear a rush of peppy indiepop that's fun and catchy, even when it's being serious. But the second time around you hear all the delicate interweaving of acoustics and keyboard, and the wistful, mournful look back at love and growing to maturity.
The Quin sisters play some nimble, swirling guitars, with some bass guitar beefing up songs like the rock-y "Hop A Plane." Ted Gowans also underscores some of the songs with sprightly piano pop, and he also weaves ribbons of glimmering synth through the earthy pop melodies. There are moments of messiness like "Like O, Like H," but usually they smoothly twine into a layered, solid pop melody.
They sing everything in girlish, harmonized voices, but the sisters also provide "The Con" with its bittersweet, confusing songwriting. And they've gained more maturity here as well, with lots of enigmatic lines, recollections of the past and lovelorn memories ("If I forget or God forbid die too soon/hope that you'll hear me know that I wrote to you...").
The up-and-down of lyrical romantic angst ends with the painful "Call it Off," which is all about how one of them is in love still, but knows the relationship is doomed ("You take your time coming over here/I think that's for the best/Call, break it off").
Tegan and Sara reach a new level of musical skill with "The Con" -- it's brilliant pop, but filled with heartfelt problems and uncertainty. Definitely a winner.
And the identical twins show even greater variety in their fifth full-length album, three years after the Juno-nominated "So Jealous." In "The Con," they basically polish their existing guitar pop, but fill the sprightly melodies with confusing experiences and sorrowful romances.
It opens with a delicate piano ballad, framing a pretty, poignant song about the confusion and struggles of gay people. "To my heart confusion rose against/the muscles fought so long/to control against the pull of one/magnet to another magnet to another magnet," Tegan and Sara Quin sing together in shifting melodies. "I look into the mirror/for evil that just does not exist..."
Things get much more sprightly for the swirling pop of "Relief Next to Me," or the songs that it lays the groundwork for: rapid-fire dancepop, mellow piano ballads, bouncy little indie melodies, mellow acoustics, dark urgent pop stabbed with drumbeats, and energetic powerpop that doesn't let its bounciness keep it from staying intense.
Don't listen to "The Con" just once. Listen at least twice.
On the first listen you hear a rush of peppy indiepop that's fun and catchy, even when it's being serious. But the second time around you hear all the delicate interweaving of acoustics and keyboard, and the wistful, mournful look back at love and growing to maturity.
The Quin sisters play some nimble, swirling guitars, with some bass guitar beefing up songs like the rock-y "Hop A Plane." Ted Gowans also underscores some of the songs with sprightly piano pop, and he also weaves ribbons of glimmering synth through the earthy pop melodies. There are moments of messiness like "Like O, Like H," but usually they smoothly twine into a layered, solid pop melody.
They sing everything in girlish, harmonized voices, but the sisters also provide "The Con" with its bittersweet, confusing songwriting. And they've gained more maturity here as well, with lots of enigmatic lines, recollections of the past and lovelorn memories ("If I forget or God forbid die too soon/hope that you'll hear me know that I wrote to you...").
The up-and-down of lyrical romantic angst ends with the painful "Call it Off," which is all about how one of them is in love still, but knows the relationship is doomed ("You take your time coming over here/I think that's for the best/Call, break it off").
Tegan and Sara reach a new level of musical skill with "The Con" -- it's brilliant pop, but filled with heartfelt problems and uncertainty. Definitely a winner.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This is the first thing I have heard from them and have been blown away. The hauntingly beautiful songs were instantly stuck in my head, and I just cant get enough of this. Buy it now.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I adore these girls!
Always very down-to-earth and heart-felt lyrics.
The album seems more mature and in depth than their previous albums (but I still love all their work!)
From this album "Nineteen" and "Dark Come Soon" really stayed with me and I could really relate to the lyrics.
Such passion, emotion amd raw talent, which is SUCH a rarity in the pop music of today! (Where 99.9% of artists on MTV are fake tanned and full of plastic and no talent - oh so sad!)
I would recommend this album to anyone who loves music which is full of passion, emotion and raw talent!
=)
Always very down-to-earth and heart-felt lyrics.
The album seems more mature and in depth than their previous albums (but I still love all their work!)
From this album "Nineteen" and "Dark Come Soon" really stayed with me and I could really relate to the lyrics.
Such passion, emotion amd raw talent, which is SUCH a rarity in the pop music of today! (Where 99.9% of artists on MTV are fake tanned and full of plastic and no talent - oh so sad!)
I would recommend this album to anyone who loves music which is full of passion, emotion and raw talent!
=)
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Great purchase!
I bought it for the DVD only, because I bought the CD a long time ago and never gotten around to buy the one with the DVD too.
Love it so much! Read more
Love it so much! Read more
Published 4 months ago by M. Joergensen
Love it!
Tegan and Sara are absolutely fabulous! This album is worth buying. The DVD is funny, and Tegan and sara are as cute as always! BUY IT! ;D
Published 6 months ago by Marianne
A treasure for T&S fans
This extended edition of "The Con" includes a DVD with a making of every song of the album. If you are a real T&S fan you will love the contents of this DVD, it's a little treasure... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Sergio
Leicester Bangs Review (2008):
Tegan & Sara - The Con (Sire)
Striking a blow for planet pop, Tegan and Sara's fifth album is a pristine example of STD catchy indie tunesmithery, the sort of stuff that would... Read more
Striking a blow for planet pop, Tegan and Sara's fifth album is a pristine example of STD catchy indie tunesmithery, the sort of stuff that would... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Leicester Bangs
What a Bright Suprise! What a Great Find!
Just bear with a late 1960's ramble for a few seconds. UK Radio coverage of the whole USA music scene was pretty lame. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Roger from Wrexham
Their finest album
I've been a big fan of Tegan and Sara for a long time and I own all their albums, which are all brilliant in different ways, but something always brings me back to this one- The... Read more
Published 23 months ago by C. Edwards
great music, honest artists!
Addictive album. The full length is around 40', but extremely intense.
Jason McGerr drums are amazing. Read more
Jason McGerr drums are amazing. Read more
Published 24 months ago by Ginestra Ferraro
Obsessed
I must have listened to this album well over a hundred times in the past few weeks which is extremely rare for me. Read more
Published on 11 Sep 2008 by Ayn Rand
Wow!!!
Excellent album, all 14 tracks are outstanding!!!. There best album to date, can't wait for the follow up.
Published on 12 April 2008 by R. Rouf
Amazing!!!
I heard them though my friend and they are great, she normal has bad taste in music so i was surpised when i heard this, turley great album.
Published on 20 Mar 2008 by M. J. Mackarill
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