First Impressions is a segment where we let you into our early thoughts on a highly anticipated album, This week, we have our early views on Tegan & Sara’s Sainthood. It drops October 27, 2009.

Two years after they were thrust into the national spotlight with the release of The Con, the Canadian duo of Tegan & Sara are returning with what just might be their most heartfelt release to date. Stemming largely from a tragic break up, Sainthood works like the cycle of moving on from a breakup. Gone are the days of acoustic track after acoustic track and welcome is this new sound of T&S that’s both experimental and still reminiscent of their folk roots. While tracks like ” “Red Belt” will keep old school fans watering at the mouth with their smart witted lyrics that mesh oh so well with light accompaniment, but the true meat of the record is in the tracks that explores new sounds for the duo. “Don’t Rush” sounds like a track you’d find in some ultra-hipster nightclub with strobe lights on the ceiling and Manhattans as the special at the bar while “Northshore” is reminiscent of late 70’s punk. Seriously.

It may come as a surprise to some, but this is the first album in which the duo wrote together. Generally speaking, the majority of T & S’s material has been written by one of the pair, but with this record they wanted to be fully collaborative and I think it’s in that mindset that the very sporadic and engaging sound of the record comes from. Nothing stays the same and nothing grows old on the 6th album from the group and here’s hoping the fans will follow the lead of expanding their minds to what “good music” can be because if nothing else, Sainthood proves Tegan and Sara to be two of the most innovative musicians and songwriters working today.

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James Shotwell

James Shotwell is the founder of Under The Gun Review. He loves writing about music and movies almost as much as he loves his two fat cats. He's also the co-founder of Antique Records and the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. You should probably follow him on Twitter.

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