With their 'most accessible and poppiest album,' the Canadian indie rock band scores their highest-charting album.
- Feb 18, 2013
AceShowbiz - "It was time to shake things up," said Tegan Rain Quin, the one-half of Tegan and Sara, when preparing their seventh album last year. With such goal, the twin sisters added more pop sound to "Heartthrob". She added, "We were determined to make our most accessible and poppiest album."
Their risky mid-career shift was paid off as they managed to attract more music lovers. Their latest album debuted at No. 3 on Billboard, their highest-charting album to date, topping their previous two critically-acclaimed albums "The Con" (2007) and "Sainthood" (2009). The January 29 release also became the first Tegan and Sara record to chart in the U.K. and in Ireland.
"Heartthrob" is led by "Closer", an infectious, hook-ridden single that certainly introduces the indie rock veterans to a broader mainstream audience. Written by T. Quin, S. Quin, Greg Kurstin, the song is their first single to date that has been Certified Gold in Canada.
"It was a very conscious decision for us to work with Greg Kurstin," Tegan once said of working with Kurstin. "Greg obviously is an incredible writer. He has worked with almost exclusively female artists. He has had incredible success in the pop world with Pink, Kelly Clarkson, and Lily Allen, but also success in the indie world with Foster the People, the Shins, and Ladyhawke... So I felt really comfortable in the studio with him, as he had those credentials."
Not only injecting more pop tune, but Tegan and Sara also changed their approach to songwriting. This is absolutely our most collaborative record. "Up to this point, on Tegan and Sara records, there have only been three songs we have ever collaborated on. On one, I just borrowed lyrics from Sarah, so we've only really written together twice," Tegan admitted. So, on the latest record, Sara Keirsten Quin wrote all the bridges for Tegan's tracks.
Having been in the business for almost two decades, the indie rock band earned their first Grammy nod in late 2012 for Best Long Form Music Video for "Get Along". However, they lost the prize to Emmett Malloy-directed documentary "Big Easy" when the 55th annual prize-giving event was held earlier this February.
