Propelled by the conviction of reinvention, Tegan and Sara’s 8th studio album, LOVE YOU TO DEATH, is the latest sonic chapter in a celebrated 17-year career. Produced by Greg Kurstin (Adele, Sia, Beck, Ellie Goulding), LOVE YOU TO DEATH delivers 10 new Tegan and Sara tracks more vibrant and visionary than ever.
Tegan and Sara explored a transcendent pop sheen for the first time on 2013’s HEARTTHROB, which deftly balanced critical acclaim with mainstream ambitions. They follow it up here with an equally explosive production, but one that casts darker shadows and lingers longer in the psyche.
Taking a page from dramatic non-fiction, LOVE YOU TO DEATH finds Tegan and
Sara mining their own lives to investigate complex relationship dynamics. At one
moment the subject is their own inescapable relationship as twin sisters (100×,
White Knuckles), while at another it’s a romantic relationship that drives
the protagonist to mournful regret (That Girl). Secret relationships (Boyfriend)
give way to social judgment about passion and transience (Faint
of Heart). Marriage is eloquently questioned as a barometer for commitment
(BWU), while commitment itself is questioned with a deliberately self-conscious
anti-love-song (U-turn). With each album their writing grows in precision and
vulnerability, and differing lyrical voices continue to sharpen their respective
identities – Tegan’s unapologetically clear word choice in evaluating
romance (Stop Desire) is balanced by Sara’s poetic reflections on anxiety
(Hang on to the Night).