Album Review : "The Con"

People always talked about the records that changed their life, well I think I found my first one. The Con is the fifth studio album by Tegan and Sara, Canadian indie rock band fronted by twin sisters by the same name. This album consists of 14 tracks which are both diverse but also cohesive. I personally dislike albums where each song sounds basically the same in other words its pretty much a straight line. However when listening to The Con it feels like a wave that has ups and downs, meaning its has tracks that are upbeat, slow, in between and out right weird; something which I love about this band. Despite the diversity, the songs all fit into one theme, which is also the title of the album, The Con. In this album both girls write about the duality of love and life, for example when you first start something new with someone you try your best to only show your good side, so in other words you are conning that person to be with you, or how you behave around others maybe different to how you behave alone. This brings me to another spectacular part of the album, the lyrics. It's heartbreaking, metaphorical, honest and open to your own interpretation thus it is very relatable. "The songs on the album complement each other, play off the other's strengths, and make the record very much an entity, instead of simply a collection of tracks, setting it off as an impressive step forward in their already commendable discography." (Marisa Brown, Allmusic.com)

The songs as a whole are very catchy,weird sounding and impossible to get out of your head. The New York Times had this to say: "Somehow “The Con” is even more obsessive sounding than Tegan and Sara’s earlier work, and it’s probably even better; it could well be one of the year’s best albums. There are plenty of albums to like, but this (fittingly enough) is one to obsess over."
I definitely agree with this statement, The Con is an album that I was obsessed with and catapulted Tegan and Sara into becoming my top band. Tegan and Sara are not very well-known in the mainstream world but that doesn't mean the quality of their music is lesser. This album impacted me greatly and made me fall in love with music all over again.

The Con, despite its title, is honest music. (Under The Radar, Summer 2007, p.77)


Sources:
http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/teganandsara/conthe
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/16/arts/music/16choi.html?ex=1185422400&en=91aedaad48af798d&ei=5070
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:dnfyxzy5ldfe~T1