Album: Tegan and Sara - Sainthood

I have a ritual when I get CDs. Despite my (massive) digital music collection, I can't help but enjoy the good ol' fashioned frustration of opening the packaging. From the matryoshka doll-like procedure some online retailers make of putting progressively smaller boxes inside each other until--finally!--the crinkle of that plastic they weld to the outside. I'm always in a rush to open these things, running my fingers frantically over each fold, hoping a hole had been scraped in the corner so I could get a tooth in it. This particular package was polite enough to provide a small tag requesting the mad music muncher to, simply, "pull here".

This album was leaked a number of weeks ago, but I told myself to wait. I heard mixed reviews from friends. Some said the style is like all of their previous compositions combined. Some said it was too much a Chris Walla production. Still, I waited.

1. "Arrow". The album starts hot off the blocks with this song. Heavy and repetitive in the middle, I like the groove on this one. You can tell Walla mixed this one, but I personally think it adds a nice touch for this type of sound. 4/5

2. "Don't Rush". This continues the steady feel the last one has, but it feels a little more like a break down. It's also a bit catchier than the first tune, while somehow coming off as less approachable or mainstream. That's a bit of the draw to Tegan and Sara for me, so I consider that a positive thing. The lyrics in this one really pop for me. The restlessness gets the heart as frantic as the melody. 4.5/5

3. "Hell". This is the first single released off the album. The catchiest of the songs so far, I could imagine why they would choose this one. As a personal taste, it seems like the type of song that would hit heavier with a live audience chanting along. Of course, live music usually does make or break a band for me. I don't think this will end up being a favorite track on the album, but I like it and could kick up my heels to it. 3.75/5

4. On Directing". I can feel a shift in the mood here and I wonder how dark this album is willing to go. I love a lot of the heavy handed tunes from the early years of T & S, so I hope that this song (which comes off as not much more or less than a worthwhile transition) marks an older, more mature take on the pensive themes of previous days.

5. "Red Belt". Very synth-y, this one. I liked that feeling on the first few songs, but I'm lost a little by this one. I think this really could have done with some nice picking on a guitar. Finally, toward the end of the song, a guitar is finally layered in, but more as a backdrop. Almost a memory of the days when the production wasn't half the song. I know I must be behind the times on this one, but I feel the instruments should match the mood. Sometimes synth is the mood, and sometimes I want a god-damned guitar. 2.5/5

6. "The Cure". Ahh, a cute little guitar. This feels like a song that will really grow on me. I'm sad that the vocals on the album seem a bit flattened out. I want to hear them taking chances and pushing themselves, but it seems they found a groove that worked for them between So Jealous and The Con and have decided to stay in it. This song is drawing me back in as I type this, so I must reiterate that I know I'll like this song more oin the future, but I needed to address the formulaic feel this album seems to be taking on a little. We're only halfway, though. i could be wrong. 4.5/5

7. "Northshore". Yeah. Yeah! I could jump around to this baby. Oops, I spent the whole song hopping around my living room tidying up and dancing. not much to say about this one except that this was more what I was hoping for when the Quin sisters were first interviewed about their intentions for this CD while they were recording it. 4.25/5

8. "Night Watch". The second song on the album to be mixed by Walla, this song reminds me of something I can't quite place. This song mixes the synth and drums in a fairly unique way. I like the use of feedback and the staccato feel of the beat. This is also a good time to touch on my feelings about the lyrics. The themes are relatable and in the usual heart-on-sleeve style of the girls, but the new attraction to blank verse is a little stifling. Don't get me wrong, I'm not asking for candy pop lines that rhyme ABAB, but could we be just slightly less stream of consciousness about this whole song writing thing? 4/5

9. "Alligator". I can hear vocals over the layers of music, it's a miracle! This is a cute ditty, but the background comes off a bit like a seventies tune. I feel like I could roller skate the shit out of this song, haha. In all seriousness--rather, all the seriousness I can muster while listening to this--the song is a real grinner. Not a happy mood about it, but it's fun. 4/5

10. "Paperback Head". This song isn't bad, but it's a little forgettable. I think when I'm listening to it with my big speakers in the den I'll enjoy how it fills the room but for now I'm left waiting to type for the next track. I want more vocals! 3/5

11. "The Ocean". The lyrics of this one are definitely my favorite so far. The tempo is, perhaps, a few bpm too fast for where it feels like it should be, but that rushed style has become the m.o. of Tegan and Sara and I must listen to it for what it is and stop pattering over tiny stylistic demands. I do, in fact, enjoy this song. 4.75/5

12. "Sentimental Tune". I like the wordplay in this one. The song has cadence to it. it stops and it flows and it sounds like I think a song should. And the vocals are interesting here! Good buildup to the ending. The technical musical ability isn't really stretched for this one too much, but sometimes simplicity can be the best. First time listen album favorite. 5/5

13. "Someday". This continues the theme of the lyrics having a good flow. I don't need rhyme, but sometimes I need words to fit together differently than a random paragraph of thought jotted on a napkin and never revised. Not sure how this song will come out live. it may be a little difficult to reproduce in that setting. of course, it also provides an opportunity for them to make an interesting live version of it that captures the mood in a different style. I'll let you know whenever their tour comes around to me. 4.25/5

Overall: 4.3/5