The Con

I'm a sexist-pig, and like all sexist-pigs...lesbians fascinate me. Like so many good things in life, I found out about Tegan and Sara from Little Steven's Underground garage. Their third album SO JEALOUS was a fantastic blend of garage rock and Lilith Fair type folk. The girls have sugary sweet voices but what really interested me was:

1. Identical twins

2. Cute as hell

3. Lesbians (both of 'em)

Putting all that aside (stupid male brain), Tegan and Sara are a great musical talent. I think SO JEALOUS is one of the best records of the past 10 years. Hell, Jack White agrees...his little band, The White Stripes (perhaps you've heard of them?) released a single a year back (or so) that was a Tegan and Sara cover ("Walking with a Ghost"). And in general, they're the best Canadian artist...like ever (sorry BNL and Rush). Anyway, I've been waiting for them to put out a new record--and they finally did. It came out today, and I streamed it on Myspace.

How is it? Not as good as SO JEALOUS. My biggest problem with THE CON is that it's nearly all acoustic indie-folk...not much garage here. I don't mind folk, per say...but Tegan and Sara devolve into (let's face it) a music cliche (thank you Indigo Girls) without the harder stuff. Sure, the voices are still sickly-sweet (even as they sing about heartbreaking things)...but it feels like a rehash.

There are a few highlights: "Hop a Plane" is quicker and recalls the better tracks on SO JEALOUS. I love the synthed out treatment this song got...I wish they would have diversified their sound like this a bit more. Another good one is "Burn your Life Down." The title track "The Con" is also really good...everything else just sort felt like filler. I was disappointed. Rather than buy this one, I think I'll just download those "choice cuts."

Jason gives THE CON a "C-"