By track two I was yelling "Wow!" in my car, serenading
pedestrians, and calling friends to tell them to watch for Tegan
and Sara coming to town.
What
I like about this album is that there is a song for every girl
I’ve ever dated. From the loss of “You Went Away”
and the obsessive longing of “Living Room” to the
guileless attraction of doomed love in “And Darling”
("I know you don’t mean/to be mean/I’m sure
you know/the same for me"), this CD provides a multifaceted
perspective on relationships without being too heavy or angsty.
Tegan and Sara are twenty three-year-old sisters
who play guitar with a fantastic backing band and capable
producers John Collins and David Carswell. According to the
Tegan and Sara website, Collins and Carswell exposed the sisters
to classic rock styles that definitely come through on this
album. “Terrible Storm” has a psychedelic texture
to it reminiscent of the Doors or mid career Rolling Stones;
“And Darling” reminds me of “Mrs. Robinson”
era Simon & Garfunkel.
But
don’t get me wrong: this album is not a 60’s throwback.
The first track, “Time Running," charges out with
muscular guitar and a punk aesthetic reminiscent of The Ramones,
The Runaways, and that classic X-Ray Spex song “Oh Bondage
Up Yours!” There are songs like “Living Room”
which could be a tribute to the Indigo Girls, with rootsy banjo,
slide guitar, and clean harmonies. The closest thing to a ballad,
“Don’t Confess,” charms with its lush instrumentals
juxtaposed against raw vocals that lean toward Mazzy Star sexiness.
The
only song that is disappointing is “I Want To Be Bad.”
The title is promising but the song doesn’t quite deliver
even though I like the driving, regimental drumming and clapping
that provide the rhythmic backbone. The beauty of this album
is that it incorporates a variety of styles while maintaining
Tegan and Sara’s unique sound. It is playable as a seamless,
well-crafted whole that can take on any of the new crop of garage
rockers like The Darkness, Hot Hot Heat, or The Shins while
remaining more emotionally complex then a band like the Donnas.
With only two U.S. albums out, (these
ladies are Canadian), and a fairly underground
status (my friend saw their show with a total of 20 people),
what is attracting the attention of so many queer women? It's
simple, really: Tegan and Sara are attractive young lesbians,
they have a solid album out, and their lyrical gender ambiguousness
lends a queer vibe that allows for an expansive object of desire.
Specific
pronouns like him/her are discarded for general descriptions
of you or them that allow the listener to project whatever fantasy
they want without the obstacle of predetermined gender. With
lyrics like "I would go to jail with only boys/just to
prove I was as tough as you," the song “Underwater”
is practically a custom-made love song for baby butches. So
what’s not to love?
If
It Was You makes a kickass summer soundtrack, and goes
great with nectarines, sunshine, and unrequited love.
If It Was You / Tegan
and Sara official site
