Tegan and Sara - Love You To Death


Having reached a new level of commercial success on 2013's Heartthrob, Tegan and Sara continue in the same indie pop vein with their latest effort, Love You To Death.  However, the follow up is not as compelling.  LYTD is certainly not bad, but when held up against its predecessor and masterpieces like So Jealous and The Con, LYTD’s limitations show.  There are solid songs like “Faint of Heart” with its big eighties pop chorus, also the anthemic "Stop Desire" as well as the harshly honest ballad “100x.”  Yet, LYTD lacks a monster single like “Closer” (from Heartthrob).  “Closer” was infectious but had an explosive emotional weight that made it great.  Further, Tegan and Sara up until this point have always been a band that always moved forward and evolved with each release.  Each album was united by similar lyrical themes, but the production style shifted.  LYTD is less ambitious and feels more like they are treading water.  Again, LYTD is not a bad album.  Tegan and Sara are still a great band.  It is just that they've been better.

Essential tracks: "Stop Desire," "100x" & "Faint of Heart."

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