Tegan And Sara - Heartthrob

When reading Alternative Press’s 2012 Most Anticipated albums article last year, they asked indie darlings, Tegan And Sara, what influences they were taking with their 7th album. The band told the magazine they were listening to the likes of Tom Petty, Kate Bush, and ABBA while constructing their next album. Now, that album in question has been released, and to say they took a lot of influence from ABBA is an understatement. Heartthrob, the band’s 7th album, is pure dance pop that takes a page from the dance infused tunes from the 80’s that made the likes of Madonna and Men Without Hats successful.

Fans haven’t been particularly kind to this album. The last 6 albums in Tegan And Sara’s discography have been indie, acoustic albums with relatable lyricism. While the truthful lyricism is still in tact, the band have definitely taken the step towards becoming pop artist. The amount of 80’s dance sounds and influence from the album is astonishing. It kind of feels fresh in a day where synths are starting to sound the same in pop songs. 

I give a lot of credit to Tegan And Sara for changing genres so late into their careers. Progression is something a lot of artist, especially ones with as many fans as Tegan And Sara, are terrified to do. The step to go from indie to pop is something that will definitely piss off their hipster fans, but get over it. I’ll give a lot to credit to a band or artist that will try something different than do the same thing over and over again.

Now this album does have one major problem. Most of the songs deal with the same topic lyric-wise. Most of them are about love, and that’s about it. While I tend to like love songs done right, the album does wear the subject to a thread in the course of 12 songs. I can't stand when albums are all the same topic. You readers will realize it is one of my biggest pet peeves with music. A little lyrical diversity can’t kill an album, only help it.

The final verdict:  Heartthrob is a little perplexing for me. On one side, I do like the 80’s style dance pop the album has because it feels fresh and exciting. On the other side, it isn’t all that creative lyric-wise. Yes, the songs lyricism is well done, but they all deal with the same topic. I don’t really remember any songs really standing out except the slow and wonderful “How Come You Don’t Want Me”. I think Tegan and Sara deserve to branch out of the indie genre and try new things, but next time I hope they take more lyrical creativity and deliver a hell of a great pop album.

FINAL GRADE: C+
CHOICE CUT: “How Come You Don’t Want Me”