Synths, and sweet songs from the sisters Tegan and Sara [Review]
Tegan and Sara’s second album since their electro-pop transformation, Love You To Death is slick and brisk, with 10 songs in 31 minutes.
Upbeat tunes, featuring Adele producer Greg Kurstin’s synth beats, combine with frank lyrics to upbeat effect. But the record is far from chipper. “When did I fall so far?/Barely recognise me,” they sing softly in opener That Girl, a tinkling track about being the hurtful one in a relationship. The tables turn in the catchy Boyfriend , as they become the ones being taken advantage of.
The Canadian twins have a knack for capturing very specific emotions in just a few lines, before shrugging them off with carefree music. As a result, many of the songs fall flat within two minutes. Greater musical progression might, for example, have saved the bland can’t-help-falling-for-you track Stop Desire.
The sisters examine their rocky relationship in the soulful White Knuckles and piano-led ballad 100x, but the irresistibly catchy U-Turn shows they’re in a happy place right now. We can’t wait to hear them live in Hong Kong next month.