Spun: Tegan and Sara

By Jaime Burnet

The twins are back in full form. Calgary’s own Tegan and Sara Quinn have finally followed their 2007 release, The Con, with Sainthood. The Con launched them from cult obscurity into the eye — and ear — of the mainstream media and Sainthood follows its success, maintaining much of the feel of their ’07 disc.

The sisters have always been lyrically focused, but Sainthood deviates more into instrumentation, taking on a wider range of sound than previous recordings. Not to say that it takes anything away from the heartbroken indie ballads still found on this album. Sainthood channels many of the same emotions, although unlike other albums, it maintains a constant tone througout. It’s a more cohesive sound, whereas The Con has been described as bi-polar. This continuity may be a result of the sisters writing the album together, in the same room, as opposed to previous releases which have been co-written from their respective cities, with Sara in Vancouver and Tegan in Montreal.

It takes a few listens to fully digest the depth of the songs, but as usual, there are a few gems that immediately stand out. “Hell,” “The Cure” and “The Ocean” are among the notable tracks to have already received fan praise.

Sainthood is packed with singles, and occupies a variety of genres, moving between ballads, power pop and even a bit of disco. Repeat listeners will not be disappointed as the twins have once again mined indie gold.