Released: October 21
Canadian pop duo Tegan and Sara return with their 10th studio album ‘Crybaby’.
The twins, who have been recording together for more than two decades, return to form with their latest offering, which see them work collaboratively on the tracks from the demo stage.
“This was the first time where, while we were still drafting our demos, we were thinking about how the songs were going to work together,” says Tegan. “It wasn’t even just that Sara was making lyric changes or reorganizing the parts to my songs, it was that she was also saying to me, ‘This song is going to be faster,’ or ‘It’s going to be in a different key’.”
It’s a process that brought out the best in the pair’s material, with Sara stepping up as producer and elevating tracks such as the runaway opener I Can’t Grow Up and gorgeous All I Wanted to pop perfection.
What stands out on first listen is the quality of the material and conviction of the vocalists across the set, which feels like a necessary recording in their repertoire. Following the release of their ‘High School’ memoir, the pair had no plans to record, but when they hit the studio in Seattle with producer John Congleton, the creative spark hit and Sara delivered tracks such as the dance floor-ready I’m Okay and the sweet, anthemic Yellow.
Meanwhile, Tegan’s angsty offerings Fucking Up What Matters, Smoking Weed Alone and Pretty Shitty Time add attitude to the collection – a quality that elevates ‘Crybaby’ as one of their most captivating releases yet.
When it comes to the title of the collection, its significance is intriguing; appearing as a refrain in the bridge to the catchy Under My Control, for years the pair have avoided the words ‘cry’ and ‘baby’ in their songs, but this time around they wanted to explore new contexts for the words, both separately and together.
“One of the major themes on this record is the empowerment that comes with being vulnerable and accepting your feelings,” says Tegan. “As adults, we suppress all of that tension, anxiety, sadness, disappointment and we’re just a mess. So there’s something powerful about ‘crybaby,’ because it’s like, ‘Yeah, I’m gonna be a fucking disaster, and that’s great’.”
It’s a notion that captures the essence of ‘Crybaby’; across 12 tracks, Tegan and Sara deliver a record that’s quintessentially pop, while laying bare their innermost thoughts and feelings and bringing fans closer than ever to the minds behind the music.
‘Crybaby’ is available now.
