Review: Tegan and Sara - "So Jealous"

Tegan and Sara - "So Jealous"
(Vapor, 2004)

To find the music of Tegan and Sara is a find you'll thank yourself for later. With musical backdrops that blend early Cranberries with the more modern tuneful nature of Rilo Kiley, So Jealous is more than the average indie album. The Calgary (Alberta) band has a strong ear for earcatching hooks, even when their songs are written in minor keys ... which makes for an unusual listening experience. "I Know I Know I Know" is one of their more accessible tracks, blending a synth-filled backdrop with early-nineties alternative vocals that evoke comparisons to a more alt-punk version of the Indigo Girls. But the album's most prominent anchoring track is "Walking With A Ghost," which opens with a three-chord acoustic guitar intro, then hits you with distorted vocals that immediately hit the listener with the force of a set of brass knuckles: "No matter which way you go / No matter which way you stay / You're out of mind, out of my mind, out of my mind, out of my mind!" the singers intone, followed by the chorus. You'll soon be singing along in all your alt-rock-shower-singing glory. "I was walking with the ghost / I said please please don't insist!" With songs like this, I'll be following Tegan and Sara wherever their indie career takes them. And you should too. Buy this album, then tell your friends to, because you're not going to want to let it out of your sight.