Tegan and Sara and me - a brief history.
- Late 2005 - heard "I Know I Know I Know", can't remember how. Became infatuated with it. Clearly still was the following year. Really basically still am today.
- Amusing story told me by this sweet guy I knew at uni, MT, about having gone to one of their shows and found it a somewhat uncomfortable experience because of the vibe created by the preponderance of aggressive lesbians. Though, for me, the 'lesbian twin sisters' aspect of Tegan and Sara has always been genuinely completely irrelevant - it just hasn't featured in how I've processed their music.
- Later - heard a few more songs of theirs. Quite liked them but they weren't as good. Figured "I Know I Know I Know" was a once-off, and that probably a lot of the reason why I got so stuck on it was the particular associations that it had picked up for me during that vivid end of uni period.
- A week or two ago (ie fast forward several years) - read a couple of very positive reviews of their latest, Heartthrob, both commenting on the sheer pop-ness of the record, and thought that it sounded a bit of a can't-miss.
- Yesterday morning, first thing - got Heartthrob (itunes). Started listening to it on the way in to work. Realised after a few songs that they were really hitting on a first listen, punchy hooks embedded in synth-led anthems penetrating the morning mental fuzz and actual external background noise.
- Yesterday evening, after work - walking home in the summer heat, finishing the first listen and then starting again, sitting alone on one of those Pitt Street benches facing out towards Rathdowne, feeling it start to sink in.
- Today - more spins (figuratively speaking), and liking it still more. The lyrics all seem to be about heartbreak and/or desire, which fits the music, which can sound variously like Robyn, Metric (sans guitars), Roxette, ABC, Talk Talk, and probably plenty of others. Don't know if I'll keep on listening to it as the months go on, but right now these songs feel like they might stick (early favourite: "I Couldn't Be Your Friend", but only barely - a whole lot of them stand out).
