Canada’s favourite musical twins, Tegan & Sara, have already established themselves as an indie-pop powerhouse duo, and their latest album, Sainthood, stays true to that reputation. The Calgary-born, Vancouver/Montreal based Quinn sisters follow-up 2007’s The Con with bouncing choruses and lively lyrics about love and relationships.
Opening track “Arrow” highlights Tegan & Sara’s unique vocals – seemingly sweet little girls with major attitude – which are a focal point for the rest of the album. By mixing elements of both pop and alt rock, the twins step outside the traditional parameters for music genres. There’s poppy electronica, as in “Don’t Rush”, as well as guitar-driven rock, like in “Northshore”.
“Someday”, the final track on the album, is notable for its lyrics about aspirations and life goals and “Sentimental Tune” is a sweet track reminiscing about young love. First single from the album, “Hell”, is an addictively catchy, head-bobbing track that will get stuck in your head for days, making you want to listen to it over and over again. But, unfortunately, “Hell” is probably the only song you’ll want to put on repeat. While the overall album flows very well if you’re listening to it absently, a closer listen will reveal that the poppy riffs and bouncing beats are repetitive. The seamless ‘flow’ between songs may be because they all sound very similar.
Sainthood is a pretty solid offering with its innovative blend of pop and rock, but with few standout tracks it falls short of being an extraordinary album.
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