Bringing the past up to speed with the present.
Tegan and Sara have been in a reflective mood for the last couple of years. In 2017, they rereleased their first record on vinyl and went on an acoustic tour to celebrate the 10th anniversary of The Con, their best and most hard-hitting album to date. But they aren’t living in nostalgia. That same year, the duo created The Con X: Covers, where 17 artists put their own, sometimes wild, spin on those songs. Now, this month, Tegan and Sara dove into their archives to rerecord and release a bunch of tracks they wrote during their teenage years.
Something that hasn’t changed over the years is Tegan and Sara’s ear for melody and songwriting prowess. The title track of the record,” Hey, I’m Just Like You,” is an us-against-the-world anthem, outlining the sisters’ struggles, achievements and memories. It melds together the instinct and raw guitar work of their younger years with the experience and digital touches of the present day. Starting with intermittent handclap percussion and an atmospheric bed of synths, the song ramps up and seems like it’ll go into a full-on electronic thump. But instead, the music falls back to an acoustic guitar melody, clean and picked out like the two of them are playing right in front of you. Add in a quick, distorted guitar solo and you have a song that effortlessly mixes together all parts of Tegan and Sara’s career to date.
Hey, I’m Just Like You drops on Sept. 27 via Sire Records. Tegan and Sara’s memoir, High School, is out three days earlier on Sept. 24.