A recent appearance on the Tonight Show proved once again that when it comes to spunk - and heart - Canadian twins Tegan and Sara Quin have few peers in the pop-rock world. In the past, critics have worried about the obsessive quality of their explorations of emotional entanglements and the vagaries of self-doubt. But that's always struck me as enormously wrongheaded. (Not to mention a veiled jab at their popularity with young lesbians.)
Without question, the Quin sisters' 2007 song cycle The Con was one of the best pop albums of the year. And the fact that their peppy, New Wave-inspired fare also grapples directly with the confused feelings that real young adults deal with every single day strikes me as an enormous bonus, not a failing. The sisters' chirpy, slightly nasal voices are another powerful weapon in their quiver. They're always in tune, and both singers' ability to jump between passionate keening and a clipped, almost robotic vocal style gives their work far more range than the young, self-involved guitar strummers with whom they're sometimes lumped.
This is a breakout moment for Tegan and Sara, so stop mulling over that ticket purchase right now and go for it. They won't be playing small theaters like the Barrymore much longer.