Tegan and Sara has to be one of the best bands I have heard over the last few years. When I first discovered their music I went out and bought each of their albums never finding a single mis-step in their career. Considering all the garbage being produced these days I find Tegan and Sara at their worst to be better than most other bands at their best. That is definately true in the case of their newest album "The Con". I enjoyed the opening song "I Was Married" for being a subtle piano driven vignette drawing you in. Nice start. It made me giddy for the next song to opeun up and rock out. Instead I got the dreamy "Relief Next To Me". Not a bad song, but it felt like a false start, an omage to synth pop that doesn't quite take off. I wanted to rock out like their past albums. Sadly it isn't until the albums single "Back In Your Head" do I find myself rediscovering the mighty push of their straight up alt-rock.
Something I felt lacking in the first half of the album. The second half of the album is much more fun and enjoyable than the first. I appreciate their attempt to work with moog and synthesizers which only made the first half sound much too textured and cluttered to the point all the dreaminess becomes cramped. The second half goes back to their guitar driven past, but not over powering. The layers are more subtle which makes the music more palatable. The ultimate effort leads one to believe they were trying to put their indi-rock past behind them to create an album where they are trying too hard to impress and try something different. The second half felt more natural and genuine. Even when they played around with synths. I am disapointed. Loose the first half of the album and release the second half as a respectable EP. Still, it's better than a lot of the crap out there.
