Tegan and Sara – The Con

Despite what most people think, punks are relatively open minded. While they will always bitch and complain and yell “sell out” and claim that “punk” is the only acceptable style of music, they’re normally not afraid to branch out and listen to different acts. That, in a way, is the beauty of punk and why it has evolved so much to encompass so many sounds and styles; because the general idea is simply that if the music is good and the ideology is true than it’s acceptable to listen to. That’s why people like Greg Graffin, Chuck Ragan, Dallas Green and Tim Barry are able to break free from their revered punk acts and release solo records that are a completely opposite sound. That’s why someone who abides by Minor Threat and Bad Brains will happily skank along to Reel Big Fish and Streetlight Manifesto. That’s why Tegan Quinn appeared on the new Against Me! record. That’s why a group like Meg & Dia can play acoustically on the Warped Tour without being harassed. If the music can survive by itself and the people behind it are true to their ideals then most “punks” will at least give them a chance to prove themselves and that’s why The Con will be accepted openly by many despite the fact that it is a pure pop record.

You see, Tegan and Sara are talented and phenomenal musicians. While yes, their album is purely pop in construction, it is much more passionate and intelligent than most. Soft and melodic, The Con is a fourteen track album seeped in soaring vocal melodies with a diverse musical background to boot. While their previous release, So Jealous, was focused more on the dueling vocals and simple guitar riff, The Con sees them expanding and attempting to incorporate newer styles into their musical tool shed. Bringing in the piano with a much stronger force than before, Tegan and Sara throw in numerous throwbacks to 80’s new wave with synths and keyboards – particularly on Are You Ten Years Ago? and Hop A Plane which is full of distorted keyboard melodies of which the main one sounds remarkably like a poppier version of the introduction to The Falcon‘s La-Z-Boy 500.

The Con is still based around the vocal harmonies of the sisters though as each set of vocals build on top of one another. Nineteen and Call If Off see the vocals build constantly in intensity and explode with passion and emotion and while some songs, Dark Come Soon and Soil, Soil, are sparse and simplistic other tracks like Back In Your Head and The Con are much more complex as they encompass a heavier tone and stronger beat to them. This diversity enables to listener to enjoy the album the whole way through as it doesn’t become repetitive or generic but instead each song is able to capture the listener’s attention.

Yes, Tegan and Sara are the furthest thing from “punk” is a traditional sense but that does not take away from the fact that The Con is a great album. It’s passionate, catchy, diverse and well written; which is more than you can say about a lot of the releases coming out from the punk underground these days.