4/5 Teen-again and Sour: Music for the ADHD/ADD Generation
  by Matt Ashby (NY)
Okay, so here's the thing... if we're strictly speaking about the music and not how cool and lovable we think Tegan and Sara are as people, I have to make one note of concern.

I watched them open for the Pretenders and Neil Young back in 2000, so I guess that makes me older than about 90% of the people who bought this record. (aka: I was born the same year, a month after them.) Since then, I've followed them and seen them at every stage in their career and the fans keep getting younger while T&S continue to age. What is happening?

Have you ever tried to write a song? It's really tough. The toughest part, in my opinion, is writing an interesting melody. On this point, Tegan and Sara are really great songwriters. They continue to write developed and interesting melodies with poignant, if not slightly relationship-bound, lyrics. So what's the problem?

They write 2 to 3 minute songs and repeat the same vocal melody line so many times that by the end of the song you can not only sing along, you're practically tired of it. I put in a new Tegan and Sara record and it's like listening to it 10 times in one listen. Now, if i were to have the attention-span of a 13 year-old who is simultaneously participating in about 15 different forms of socializing, I would only hear little snippets of the record and probably adore it by the end. This is why I think the fans are getting younger.

So, I'd like to see Tegan and Sara push themselves in a different way than just making changes to the musical elements. I'd like to see them write a song that you have to listen to 10 times before you hear the nuances in the music, mood, and lyrics. They've got plenty of great songs that you only have to listen to once to hear 10 times.

By all means, buy the record. Support them! They're great songwriters! And it's a great record. Just saying!




5/5 I can't believe I like it as much as the con
  by Daniel French (pa)
The Con is one of my Favorite records of all time, I really got attached to it which I haven't done to a album in a long while (being in bands and over-saturated with music in general for the last 10 years). That being said, I was really looking forward to Sainthood but expecting to be a little disappointed because of my feeling about the con, boy was I wrong. I love this album! I think I might end up liking it better that The Con. It's really easy to tell the difference between Tegan's songs and Sara's songs on Sainthood, Tegan songs are more poppy/punky, and Sara's songs are more atmospheric with intellectual lyrics. They are both amazing and compliment each other well, I highly recommend this record.

3/5 Brilliant lyrics, yet the melodies leaves me cold.
  by M. Case (long beach, CA)
I wanted to love this, I really did. I honestly feel that this is going to be one of those albums that will be fiercely debated among fans, and there may be a great divide.

I've been a longtime fan of Tegan and Sara since I first heard their album "If It Was You." I've dutifully collected their albums since 2003, and have loved the majority of their music. There has been great departures from album to album, as if they're leapfrogging sonically through various sounds and musical styles. I can respect this, as I'd hate for a band to get pigeonholed as a one-note...however, this album-while still brilliantly written with a poignant concept- is a musical disconnect for me. Their earlier albums had a warmth to the music that has slowly dwindled away with "The Con." While I still liked their last album (in a catchy, synth-pop way), "Sainthood" feels a little like those pop-punk studio recorded bands where the acoustic music is shined up and mechanized with digital samples and loops. I have no qualms with using layers of synthetic samples/loops/beats, but this feels like it doesn't fully devote itself to one side or the other. On top of that, I've never heard Tegan and Sara sound so divided. To me, it sounds as if they've given up trying to intertwine with one another and instead of collaborating as a unit, it's as if two split pieces are being held together for the sake of a studio album.

The album is fine. I don't regret buying it. Musically, I just don't feel the visceral passion that was apparent in their previous work. I'm sad to say that while their writing has become richer and more beautiful, I'm also feeling more alienated from the actual music and melodies they picked to accompany the lyrics.

5/5 Their Best Yet
  by Matt (Illinois)
Tegan and Sara are one of my very favorite rock acts still putting out albums. Unlike most people, I didn't love The Con--it was good, interesting and atmospheric, with a few memorable songs, but overall I thought its high points couldn't match the high points of So Jealous, like "Walking," "You Wouldn't," "I Won't Be Left" and "Take Me Anywhere." Sorry, I know The Con was a more sophisticated album in many ways, but, to me, it was also more boring.
I think they have returned to form, in a way, on this one, while also incorporating some of the more complicated musical and sonic ideas they started playing with on The Con. It's the best of both worlds--a real, congruent album, not just a handful of singles with some decent filler, which you could criticize So Jealous of being, but also missing none of the fantastic hooks the sisses are so good at. Sainthood really pops; it's very energetic, but also adult, without being indulgently experimental or just flat-out boring. Standouts to me are... actually I really like almost all the songs. There are a few--three, maybe--that don't speak to me that much, but everything else I really dig, even though they are all quite different. Their music has evolved and is better than ever but hasn't lost the passion and energy that make it so appealing. So, T&S, thanks for making my runs go by so quickly and enjoyably! (My main reason for replenishing my iPod these days.) And congrats for sticking with it and really persevering as musicians over the years; you just keep getting better.

5/5 Buy It
  by Marleija Forey (Detroit, MI USA)
I was skeptical about this album because I can't see how T&S can top The Con and So Jealous. But I had to remind myself that I had to listen to those albums at least twice before I had a hold of it. The same with Sainthood. "Sentimental Tune" brings out Sara's beautiful backround voice that I can't get enough of. "On Directing" brings me back to 2007, nostalgia forever. "Someday" rocks my bones. Any thing Tegan and Sara are always must-haves.