Tegan and Sara Quin were on the cusp of the big-time with 2007’s half-million selling The Con. However follow-up Sainthood did only half that number, prompting a re-think on the part of the Vancouver twins. Just how far-reaching their reinvention has been becomes clear when you slap on Heartthrob opener ‘Closer’. With its textured groove and lush melody it sounds like a mildly cross Avril Lavigne trying to claw her way out of a Rihanna B-side.
This is not a criticism, simply an acknowledgment of the degree to which Tegan & Sara are venturing out on a limb here. Recorded in Los Angeles with Ke$ha and Lily Allen producer Greg Kurstin, Heartthrob is uncompromisingly glossy, with little of the counter-culture brio previously a hallmark of the duo’s sound. ‘Goodbye’ is a synth-fueled ballad with lyrics so syrupy you could spread them on your pancakes; the marble-lacquered ‘I Was A Fool’, meanwhile, might have slotted onto a Kelly Clarkson LP (not uncoincidentally another Kurstin alum). Generally Heartthrob is a subtlety-free zone; in interviews the duo have certainly been upfront about their desire to flog more product.
“We had the wind at our backs with The Con,” Sara said recently. “We realised we had built a wonderful fanbase. If you get comfortable you end up pushing away that fans. Of course, if you are too experimental, you might scare them. We needed to walk a fine line.” On paper, it could be interpreted as a plea for attention. But let’s not forget that, even at its most ragged, Tegan & Sara’s music always had a strident pop undercurrent. There’s an argument that, far from cashing in, they are finally being true to their instincts. The Quins have been proudly gay for all of their career. And yet, in some ways, Heartthrob is truly their ‘exiting the closet’ moment.