Studio Masters

Tegan And Sara – The Con (2007/2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 36:53 minutes | 830 MB | Genre: Folk Rock, Indie Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Vapor – Sire

Although identical twin sisters Tegan and Sara Quin first appeared in the music scene in the late ’90s playing the kind of folk-rock and folk-punk more associated with other Lilith Fair (in which they participated) artists of the time, by the time 2007 rolled around they had moved into much poppier territory. It was a progression, to be sure, from This Business of Art to their fourth Vapor full-length – one that can be heard in the time spent on production, the louder guitars – but that still may not prepare listeners for The Con. Produced by Death Cab for Cutie’s Chris Walla, the album is full of quirky, Aqueduct-like keyboards, punchy bass from Weezer’s Matt Sharp and AFI’s Hunter Burgan, and even some guitar help from Kaki King that stretch and shove their way into the spaces between Tegan and Sara’s hook-driven melodies and clean harmonies, more complex than anything they’ve done before. Though each sister writes and sings lead on seven tracks, it is Sara especially who writes the more intricate pieces (“Relief Next to Me,” “Like O, Like H”), showing a more adult songwriter, one who has matured since her first work came out, while Tegan draws more from simpler emo and pop-punk arrangements (“Nineteen,” “Hop a Plane”), her songs more straightforward, both compositionally and lyrically, than her sister’s. But this isn’t to say that there’s a kind of disparity or harsh contrast on The Con. Much like the duo’s voices, which share a timbre, a clear relationship, even if their actual tonality differs, the songs on the album complement each other, play off the other’s strengths, and make the record very much an entity instead of simply a collection of tracks, setting it off as an impressive step forward in their already commendable discography.  ~ AllMusic Review by Marisa Brown

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Tegan And Sara – Sainthood (2009/2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/48 kHz | Time – 36:58 minutes | 478 MB | Genre: Alternative Rock, Indie Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Vapor – Sire

Tegan and Sara’s fifth album, The Con, found them expanding their sound to incorporate more texture and space in their approach. With the help of producer Chris Walla, they built on what they had done before to make something more complex and adult-sounding. Their sixth album, Sainthood, retains Walla as producer but discards much of the restraint and atmosphere of The Con in favor of a punchier, more direct feel that’s more in line with the duo’s best album, So Jealous. The arrangements are less cluttered, the songs are more straightforward, and the simple to understand and feel emotional impact of the album is visceral. They still put care into the way songs are structured and aren’t shy about adding unusual sounds occasionally, but there is far more energy and fire on this record. Maybe they felt too restrained by the tightly sculpted and adult sound of the previous album and needed to get back to their roots. Maybe they didn’t want to simply repeat themselves. Whatever the reason, the decision to strip back the sound a little bit was a good one that helps the album immeasurably. The high quality of the songs the sisters brought to the album helps even more. As on The Con, Sara’s songs are more complicated musically and more nuanced lyrically, while Tegan’s are simpler and poppier, with a more direct lyrical slant. It may be unfair to split them so clearly, but Sara seems like the artist and Tegan the pop kid. She definitely writes and sings the catchier tunes; her “The Cure” sounds like the hit single from the album, “Northshore” is a punky blast of fun, and her other tracks aren’t far behind in the hook department. That’s not to say that Sara can’t write catchy songs (her “Alligator” would be the second single); they are just a little less open and more mysterious. There’s a depth to her writing that Tegan’s songs don’t always have. That’s OK, though, because it’s the contrast between their writing styles and voices, slight as it may be, that works to make Sainthood another rich and rewarding album. ~ AllMusic Review by Tim Sendra

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Tegan And Sara – Love You to Death (2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 31:32 minutes | 694 MB | Genre: Synth-pop, Indie Pop
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Warner Records

Tegan and Sara have announced their forthcoming album Love You to Death. Recorded in Los Angeles,Love You to Death is the band’s 8th studio album and once again finds the group working with producer Greg Kurstin (Adele, Sia, Beck, Ellie Goulding).

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Tegan and Sara – Hey, We’re Just Like You (The Remixes) (2020)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 27:17 minutes | 308 MB | Genre: Indie Pop
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Sire

We’re just under two months out from the one-year anniversary of Tegan and Sara’s ninth LP together, Hey, I’m Just Like You, and to celebrate, the sisters have unveiled an ambitious remix project. Not only do five tracks from the record see brand new remixes from the likes of Matthew Dear, Shura, Tracy Young, Tim Mislock, and Mija, but each of these remixes also comes with an accompanying video with Tegan stepping behind the camera to film a couple of the tracks.

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Tegan And Sara – Hey, I’m Just Like You (2019)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 38:12 minutes | 806 MB | Genre: Alternative Rock, Indie Pop
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Sire

Twenty years into their career, Tegan and Sara have recorded a new album that is based on the first songs they ever wrote. Hey, I’m Just Like You – their ninth studio album overall and first since 2016’s Love You to Death – will be released on September 27 on Sire. Hey, I’m Just Like You is a return to Tegan and Sara’s rock and punk roots, with a punch of pop production. Recorded in Vancouver, Canada in April and May 2019, the album recasts the remarkable innate songwriting talents both possessed as teenagers, and allows these previously unreleased songs to benefit from the studio expertise they have gained in the past two decades – a period that has seen them release eight studio albums, earning seven Gold certifications and one Double Platinum certification in the process. Defiant and melodramatic, the songs capture the exultation and grief of first loves, first losses, ecstatic kiss-offs, and psychedelic tributes to friendship.

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Tegan And Sara – Heartthrob (2013/2014)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 36:29 minutes | 464 MB | Genre: Indie Rock, Synth-pop
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Vapor/Warner Bros.

Tegan and Sara have now released their 7th studio album – Heartthrob – as internationally-celebrated songwriters, performers, and artists. The album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 chart, securing the band’s highest US chart position to date. Heartthrob doesn’t just sound different, it represents a more collaborative way of making music.

For the first time, the sisters actually wrote a lot of the songs together (in the past there were Tegan songs and Sara songs), and they surrendered more control than usual in the studio, dividing songs between 3 producers (Greg Kurstin, Justin Meldal-Johnsen, and Mike Elizondo) and a handful of outside musicians to capture the sound they were looking for. “No one will confuse this with any of our other records,” Sara says. “It’s got a bigger, bolder, happier sound.”

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