The Con [Digipak]

Performer: Tegan & Sara
Engineer: Will Markwell
Producer: Christopher Walla; Tegan Quin; Sara Quin
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Tegan & Sara: Tegan Quin, Sara Quin (guitars). Additional personnel: Ted Gowans, Kaki King (guitars); Christopher Walla, Hunter Burgan, Matt Sharp (bass guitar); Jason McGerr (drums). After several years spent perpetually bubbling under as the next big thing, Canadian identical twin sisters Tegan and Sara make their first foray onto the mainstream stage with the self-assured THE CON. Filing away some of the duo's more overtly indie-rock edges while keeping well away from glossy slickness, THE CON is a big, bright-sounding album with a ton of catchy pop hooks, presented in arrangements that favor both loud guitars and dancefloor-friendly synthesizers. The duo's folkish roots peek through occasionally, as on the opening "I Was Married," but overall, THE CON is an unapologetic alternative-pop record--along the lines of Garbage or the Strokes--that maintains enough of the sisters' edgy personalities to keep longtime fans from considering it a sellout move.

Rolling Stone (p.90) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he focus is the singer's feelings, examined rather than indulged. Tune seekers will admire many of these songs..." Spin (p.109) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "The album peaks with the bouncy, piano-driven 'Back in Your Head' and the Cars-esque 'Hop a Plane'..." Uncut (p.65) - "[V]ocalists Tegan and Sara are back with THE CON, a collection of angsty, catchy pop..." Uncut (p.109) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[They] fairly blaze through THE CON's 14 compact, supercharged tracks -- their vocals delivering anxious lyrics that sound like fragments of overheard cellphone conversation." Alternative Press (p.128) - Included in Alternative Press's '10 Essential Albums Of 2007' -- "[T]he Quin sisters have released their most succinct musical statement to date with THE CON." CMJ (p.43) - "If there's one thing that Tegan and Sara have always excelled at, it's the ability to write a damn catchy tune." Q (Magazine) (p.117) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[A] collection of short, buzzy indie-pop songs crammed with hooks, intuitive harmonies and much intense musing on the agony and ecstasy of young lust..." Mojo (Publisher) (p.103) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]heir most tightly-structured....It's the sparing 'I Was Married' and the despairing 'Soil Soil' that mark this pair out as lifers." The Word (magazine) (p.110) - "[They sing] with a mildly unhinged honesty at its finest on the yearning 'Nineteen'....They're talented writers..."

Tegan & Sara are twin sisters from Canada who have won over legions of fans with their self-deprecating humor and energetic acoustic music that marries emo honesty with pop sparkle and songcraft. After winning a local battle of the bands in their native Calgary in the mid 1990s, the then-adolescent sisters began playing clubs relentlessly, eventually gaining a spot on the Lilith Fair tour and landing a record deal with Neil Young's Vapor Records. Their first album in 2000 quickly garnered much acclaim, and by the release of their third official album, SO JEALOUS, in 2004, they were genuine stars.

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