Photo by Alex Welsh Written by Haley Parsons
Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Keirsten Quin are the charming twin sisters belonging to the Canadian duo, Tegan and Sara. They’ve been making music together since they were about 15-years-old. Upon graduating from high school in 1998, they made the decision to pursue music full-time and set off on a career that would span over two decades and across oceans.
Early on, the twins set about making guitar-driven, deceptively simple songs about relationships with a punk edge. 1999’s Under Feet Like Ours set the tone for the next 10 years. With each album, the band felt like they grew creatively and gained fans. Which was true—they eventually gained a huge cult following from 2004’s So Jealous and 2007’s The Con, helped in part by the use of “Where Does the Good Go” on Grey’s Anatomy. But, eventually the sisters felt that they had hit a creative plateau.
Sainthood cemented Tegan and Sara’s success and fanbase, but Tegan didn’t feel like they were growing or challenging themselves. They had made an album that was pretty similar to their other albums and had kept the same fans interested. Sara straight up wasn’t into the music they were making anymore. Yet, neither one could admit to the other that their hearts weren’t in what they were doing because they would’ve just called it quits. Finally, the sisters came clean with one another and tried to get on the same page again through several conversations about the future of the band.
Through their discussions, they determined a new direction for the group. An 80’s synth pop-inspired sound was going to be their new home and they began work on 2013’s Heartthrob. The album was a huge leap from their sweet but sad, acoustic guitar image. With its release, they dove into huge, sugary choruses and irresistible beats made for Top 40 radio. Which is exactly where it landed them. The jump paid off and shot them into a bigger spotlight than they had ever been exposed to before. The album’s opener, “Closer” made a fan of Taylor Swift, who invited the twins on stage with her at the Staples Center to perform their hit single.
While still tackling the same themes and storylines in their lyrics, Tegan and Sara were also extremely fun to listen to in comparison to their beautiful but slightly depressing early material. I think this new element of lightheartedness helped attract new fans while still singing about the same concepts helped keep old fans. Tegan and Sara have found a way to challenge established music industry norms through almost all of the music they have released. As queer, Canadian twin sisters, they are an abnormality in popular music, yet they have found a way to stick around and be authentic for nearly two decades.
Perhaps one secret to their success is the fact that they are indeed, twins! They began making music together as young teenagers and had been living together for even longer than that. They know each other better than anyone else in the world and certainly know how to piss each other off. Like Noel and Liam Gallagher of Oasis, their collective past is littered with stories of them physically fighting and feeling extremely isolated from one another, yet unlike the brothers, they have found a way to communicate and establish a respectful creative partnership. Their music has changed as their personal lives have changed. Some of their saddest music was produced during times when they were learning how to live in different places, far away from one another and as they began to build their adult lives. They’ve gone from writing songs separately and sending demos back and forth to actually collaborating. Tegan and Sara have grown tremendously and continue to be each other’s biggest fans as well as challengers, which seems to be the perfect combination for a creative partnership.
Keep up with Tegan and Sara on Twitter and be sure to check out their impressive discography if you aren’t already a fan!
HALEY PARSONS | remember to drink water and take care of yourself | KXSU Music Reporter