The Con

admin — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 20:45:00 +0000

The biggest key to deconstructing Tegan and Sara’s The Con can be found in the line “I won't go my whole life telling you I don't need.” It’s a break-up album: a tale of love lost, and clearly one of the twins is blaming herself. In interviews with the duo, Tegan admits it was the dissolution of a five year relationship that is the basis of the lyrical fodder, and that she’s not afraid to make her heartache poetically public.

The Con is an album about lies and confessions. The instrumental manages to be upbeat while at the same time being the perfect indie-pop accompaniment for the melancholy admitting of wrongdoings. And while Tegan and her sister sing about the demise of something that once was so good (“Nineteen"), they turn the self-sufficient suffering into a blissful break-up album that any ex-girlfriend can only find heartbreakingly honest.

It’s quite obvious that the writing of The Con was a therapeutic experience for Tegan, and fans are only better off for it. It’s the most captivating and best written album Tegan and Sara have released, and their maturity is emerging with lines like, “The pressure of this life is so/You can't be held accountable.”

Written by: Trish Bendix, August 2nd 2007

Vapor Records

The Con