Sainthood

"Inspired by emotional longing and the quiet actions we hope may be noticed by the objects of our affection, Sainthood is about obsession with romantic ideals. We practice our sainthood in the hope that we will be rewarded with adoration."

In discussing their new album Sainthood, Tegan and Sara both noted that their songs are largely about love, adding that "music is love... the soul-wrenching, heart-ripping-out parts of love...[it's] the way you talk about the person you like."

Over the years, Tegan and Sara have retained a simplicity that is pleasant and refreshing. Despite of this simplicity, I always feel a sense of depth when listening to their music which is particularly notable on one of their first gems "Walking With A Ghost" when those drums kick in.

In Sainthood, they manage to retain their simplicity while pushing what we have come to expect from them musically. The changes are subtle presenting themselves as infusions from various genres we have not seen T&S dabble in prior to this. With that said, Sainthood has the capacity to be everything the girls set out for it to be. Being inspired by love gone awry and Lonard Cohen's "Came so far for Beauty," the musical elements of this album take us back by building up a sort of nostalgia. At the same time, they advance T&S's talent through the "quiet actions" they hope might be noticed. They build by engaging in genre blending. Here, we see musical elements of the past being utilized in new ways to win our hearts over.

This comes forth most noticeably in T&S's "Red Belt" and "Northshore."

In "Northshore," we are given a punk rock throwback in the form of fast-paced guitar riff accompanied by vocals that, uncharacteristically for T&S, are as quick as the guitar introduction.

In "Redbelt" we are given classic T&S. It's a familiar beat made famous by Rod Stewart in "Some Guys Have All The Luck." Of course, the girls speed this beat up and make this song theirs by adding a few touches. Among these touches is the most brilliant element of this song. The girls infuse a raw, acoustic-feeling guitar beat primarily in the chorus of the song giving the impression of authenticity. During the chorus, they take this even further when they state, "kneel to condition all the feelings that you feel." They expertly do exactly this in a way that is, for the most part, undetectable.

You can hear "Some Guys Have All The Luck" and "Red Belt" here.Utter Brilliance playlist by Weeiner

What I like most about this album is that it needs to grow on the listener. With that facet in mind, Tegan and Sara's brilliance becomes increasingly clear since they were able to musically represent all of the artistic ambitions they had for this project. I think this stands out best when T&S say, "we practice our sainthood in the hope that we will be rewarded with adoration." They stick to what we known in their lyrics and tone that tend to embody a desperate honest plea for love. However, because they stick so closely to this to the point of sainthood, they are able to push forward and create new by using the old elements we have come to love. And like love, especially the obsessive kind that T&S often sing about, this album grows on us even though we may not notice much of it on first listen.