Track Listing

1. I Was Married
2. Relief Next to Me
3. Con
4. Knife Going In
5. Are You Ten Years Ago
6. Back in Your Head
7. Hop a Plane
8. Soil, Soil
9. Burn Your Life Down
10. Nineteen
11. Floorplan
12. Like O, Like H
13. Dark Come Soon
14. Call It Off

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5589 in Music
• Released on: 2007-07-24
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com
It's hard to follow up the record that made you famous. For many artists, that's their first album, and the disappointing results are termed the "sophomore slump." Luckily, Tegan and Sara's star-making Juno-nominated album, So Jealous, was their fourth--and their fifth album, The Con, not only avoids any kind of slump but sets a new bar of quality quite high. While both a darker and quirkier album than the near-perfect heartbreak pop of So Jealous, The Con skillfully packs its instant hooks in so tight, virtually every line becomes the one you want to sing along to--and the twins' lyrics aren't your typical pop pabulum. Layer upon layer of tasty ear candy coat considered sentiments like "Nobody likes to but I really like to cry," "I felt you in my legs before I ever met you," and "Maybe I would have been something you'd be good at"--lyrics that feel honest and add an emotional urgency and depth rarely heard on the radio. However, the biggest leap Tegan and Sara made on this record was not the lyrical content, but how the album itself was created. The switch to coproducing with indie superstar Christopher Walla (Decemberists, Death Cab for Cutie) is apparent, and part of what gives this record its distinctive and innovative touch. From the odd structure of "I Was Married" to the thumping electronica of "Are You Ten Years Ago," The Con reverberates with unabashed creativity, and it's a rare pleasure to hear it done so well. I would be surprised if another band this year made a better record--it's really that good. A special bonus for fans: don't shy away from the deluxe edition of this album--it includes a DVD with a feature-length intimate documentary on the making of the album, offering a lot of insight into their creative process. --Alan Wiley

Customer Reviews

Tegan and Sara mature, and blow me away in the process!
How do you follow an album like "So Jealous," an album that not only helped solidify Tegan and Sara's place as one of the decade's most notable indie pop/rock acts, but also helped define their career? How do you follow the sheer, raw enjoyment that was found over every second of such a fantastic record? For the Quin sisters, the answer is "The Con," their newest and, in my opinion, best album.

On "The Con," Tegan and Sara show that they've matured a lot since their last outing, not only musically, but lyrically as well. Whereas "So Jealous" was largely a fast-paced rock album, this one is much more balanced. There are clearly songs that sound like classic Tegan and Sara, but at the same time there are also some beautifully composed and executed songs. Almost every track on the album features multiple layers of guitars and synthesizers. "Relief Next To Me" showcases this addition quite nicely, as does "Knife Going In" and the absolutely awesome title track. "Are You Ten Years Ago" forgoes the typical drum set for an electronic drum track, and the end result is a more effective song than it would've been otherwise.

It's clear that the Quin sisters wanted to make an album that branches out from their previous sounds and explores new territory. For any artist, it is always a tricky path to walk. However, Tegan and Sara have achieved their goal flawlessly. They no longer sound like little girls but women. Every second of "The Con" showcases their maturity as musicians and as lyricists, and I couldn't be happier.

"So Jealous" was always sort of a guilty pleasure for me. As a grown male, you better believe I faced some opposition from friends when I tried to show them Tegan and Sara. No longer. "The Con" is an album that I'm not only proud to own, but I'm trilled to say that it's one of the best, most surprising records to release in 2007. If you've ever been a Tegan and Sara fan, you absolutely have to check this one out!

Key Tracks:
1. "The Con"
2. "Hop A Plane"
3. "Soil, Soil"
4. "Burn Your Life Down"
5. "Like O, Like H"

8 out of 10 Stars

All you need to save me
The world of pop could use a lot more pop like Tegan and Sara's, and less posturing on MTV with a computerized voice.

And the identical twins show even greater variety in their fifth full-length album, three years after the Juno-nominated "So Jealous." In "The Con," they basically polish their existing guitar pop, but fill the sprightly melodies with confusing experiences and sorrowful romances.

It opens with a delicate piano ballad, framing a pretty, poignant song about the confusion and struggles of gay people. "To my heart confusion rose against/the muscles fought so long/to control against the pull of one/magnet to another magnet to another magnet," Tegan and Sara Quin sing together in shifting melodies. "I look into the mirror/for evil that just does not exist..."

Things get much more sprightly for the swirling pop of "Relief Next to Me," or the songs that it lays the groundwork for: rapid-fire dancepop, mellow piano ballads, bouncy little indie melodies, mellow acoustics, dark urgent pop stabbed with drumbeats, and energetic powerpop that doesn't let its bounciness keep it from staying intense.

Don't listen to "The Con" just once. Listen at least twice.

On the first listen you hear a rush of peppy indiepop that's fun and catchy, even when it's being serious. But the second time around you hear all the delicate interweaving of acoustics and keyboard, and the wistful, mournful look back at love and growing to maturity.

The Quin sisters play some nimble, swirling guitars, with some bass guitar beefing up songs like the rock-y "Hop A Plane." Ted Gowans also underscores some of the songs with sprightly piano pop, and he also weaves ribbons of glimmering synth through the earthy pop melodies. There are moments of messiness like "Like O, Like H," but usually they smoothly twine into a layered, solid pop melody.

They sing everything in girlish, harmonized voices, but the sisters also provide "The Con" with its bittersweet, confusing songwriting. And they've gained more maturity here as well, with lots of enigmatic lines, recollections of the past and lovelorn memories ("If I forget or God forbid die too soon/hope that you'll hear me know that I wrote to you...").

The up-and-down of lyrical romantic angst ends with the painful "Call it Off," which is all about how one of them is in love still, but knows the relationship is doomed ("You take your time coming over here/I think that's for the best/Call, break it off").

Tegan and Sara reach a new level of musical skill with "The Con" -- it's brilliant pop, but filled with heartfelt problems and uncertainty. Definitely a winner.

Short, but so much in so little time happens here
This album clocks in at a VERY lean 35ish minutes, and I was disappointed at first, but then realized in short order there was a very good reason. Listen to the lyrics, read the songs - In the end I have no doubt that each song stands as a brilliant story, more than in any of their other albums. So much is told in so short a period of time. Prior to The Con, I never believed anything could match up to what they did on So Jealous, and the first listen I was iffy, however every listen after that, including the two listens live, made me realize that this was such a growth, and so much was told - It's pretty amazing. Chris Walla really helped make an emotional journey for these girls. To give that in-depth a look into themselves, it's not something you hear often enough these days.