About three weeks ago I checked out Tegan and Sara's Heartthrob album from my local library. For some reason I had it in my head that Tegan and Sara make 'jangle pop' à la early R.E.M.; corroboratingly, upon downloading the CD track names from the Web, the responding database assigned "Indie Rock" to the iTunes Genre header. Boy, was I in for a surprise! Heartthrob is a modern pop record with a new-wave sensibility; sound-wise, Tegan and Sara have more in common with the Go-Go's or even ᗅᗺᗷᗅ than with the Indigo Girls.
Although somewhat derivative in places, Heartthrob is overall an enjoyable listen. My favorite cut on the album is "Drove Me Wild", and "Goodbye, Goodbye" is almost as good - these songs definitely belong on the radio. I also appreciate the Radiohead-ish artsiness that adorns some of the album's later tracks; it would be great to hear an entire record in the vein of "Now I'm All Messed Up".
Checking the credits, I see that most of Heartthrob was produced by Greg Kurstin. Hope springs eternal that someday Geggy Tah will reunite - Sacred Cow is my favorite record from the 1990s - but I'm not holding my breath on that.
Bronski Beat's The Age of Consent will be our next musical selection.
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