Sainthood

Sainthood
Great album. The girls ahve really developed and improved over the years. They will be a power to be reckoned with.

Next time leave the synthesizer off the album
Not as consistently good as the rest of their albums. This album feels almost over produced. The synthesizer/moog/whatever is often turned up way too much in the mix, and detracts from the "raw" sound that I love so much about Tegan and Sara. There are still a few really good songs. I'm particuarly fond of "Hell", and think that the album was ALMOST worth just that song, but alot of the songs seem like they have really childish/immature lyrics/vocal melodies (like "Arrow" and "Don't Rush"). Give the album a full listen on YouTube before you buy it. Wikipedia the track listings and then see if you think the whole album is worth buying.

Different... but in a good way.
I'm a new Tegan and Sara fan. I stumbled across them by accident and immediately fell in love. I've listend to So Jealous and The Con probably thousands of times each and still can't get enough. For me, The Con is by far one of the best albums ever. Each track stands alone, yet comes together as a suprising whole. I haven't listened as much to their older stuff, probably because I can't quit listening to their newer stuff. Sainthood, for me, is a great rock album with pop moments. I love Arrow, Hell, On Directing, and The Ocean. They're my favorite tracks from the album. I think any one of them could have wound up on The Con. This album seems to be a little bit heavier than their previous albums; gone are the acoustic tracks like Call It Off and Fix You Up and Soil, Soil. Replacing them, are poppy well written songs like Alligator and Paperback Head (the latter being my least favorite track on the album). Yet the craftsmanship remains absolutely great. I think for anyone, it's hard to follow up the album of a lifetime and when you do critcs and fans will always underappreciate it. But I think Sainthood is an excellent album. Yeah, the lyrics are repetative and the songs seem simple, but after a few listens I began to hear the complexities of them and their repetative nature resembles that of So Jealous (i.e. I Can't Take It, Walking With A Ghost, and We Didn't Do It). The reason that I rate it at 4 stars instead of five is because I really like their acoustic tracks and was bummed to find that aspect of their talent lacking on this album. I think that maybe Alligator would have lent itself well to an acoustic arrangment rather than its pop arrangement. However, I do love the heavier nature of Sainthood. Another reason is that each time I listen to the album, I tend to skip over Paperback Head and Someday. I don't believe they're bad songs, just not for me. There's not one song that I skip over on So Jealous or The Con. The final reason that I rate it at 4 stars is because these songs aren't as personal sounding as their previous songs. They don't come across in the way that they seem like they could've been pages ripped from the personal diaries of Tegan and Sara. I just don't find them wearing their hearts on their sleeves as they tend to. They seem a little more gaurded on this album, like they're hesitant to let the listener in quite as much as they had done on The Con. As an album, I find that Sainthood comes together well and each track is good as a stand alone or come together collectively and make a strong statement. It's overall a great album. I think they could definitly have done a worse follow up. I love it.

In a state of Sainthood
Awesome deal! Not only do you a vinyl of the album but also a CD of the album. I think this is the best one yet. This album itself is unique in the sense that Tegan and Sara have shown their maturing not only as a band but as people themselves. Everything from the title of the album to every song has a story behind it. This is what makes Tegan and Sara a band that can be enjoyed over and over again with each listen.

Another Solid Album
I have been on the Tegan and Sara bandwagon since I started listening to them around the time of their excellent 2004 "So Jealous" album (still my favorite ablum of their to this day). 2007's "The Con" album was quite good too, but didn't quite bring the same enjoyment for me. Now comes the new album (ok, this was released in October, but I'm still catching up on some 2009 releases I never got around to fully exploring). WIth the opening sounds of "Sainthood" (13 tracks; 37 min.) on the opener "Arrow", it immediately feels like this album has an urgency that "The Con" never seemed to have. First single "Hell" is an irresitable pop song outright (reminding me of Metric, for one thing). "The Cure" is another single in the waiting. "Alligator" (second single) is another great tune, albeit not the attention-grabber that "Hell" or "The Cure" is, in my opinion. "Northshore" is almost a punk-like anthem (quite a long way off from their folksy-guitar beginnings). The songs on here are all in the 3 min, range, the Quin twins make their musical point and then move on, just great. The latter part of the album is actually the best for me, with outstanding tracks like the urgent, fast-tempo "The Ocean" and "Sentimental Tune" (which doesn't sound anything sentimental), and the jubilant closer "Someday", for me the best track on here. In all, this is quite the album. Close to "So Jealous", in fact. I saw Tegan and Sara in concert for the first time in 2005, and they were fantastic (and quite humorous in banter in between songs). Can't wait to see to see them again. If you wonder where you can hear this, check out WOXY (BAM! The Future of Rock and Roll), the internet-only station that brings the best indie-music in the country, and where this album has been in heavy rotation these last couple of months. Meanwhile, "Sainthood" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.