(photo: Pamela Littky)

I’m always amused by people who categorize anything as being “chick-”, like chick-flicks, chick-lit, or chick-music.  Yes, art and other inanimate objects can have an air of masculinity or femininity to them, but to actually assign a gender?  I’ve heard lots of people refer to  Tegan and Sara as being ‘chick-rock’ but is that just  because they’re women, or is there something inherently feminine about what they do?

I guess the biggest problem about this who gender label bullshit is that for a guy to like Tegan and Sara is to call into question his own masculinity and self-identity:  “I like the new Tegan and Sara album.  Am I turning into a girl?” asked an associate of mine in an online forum recently, and the floodgates just opened up.  Some women took offense to the comment, while others were (mildly) amused.  Me?  I like Sainthood, and I don’t think it’s affecting my chromosomal make-up.  I am wondering if liking goat cheese means that I’m turning into a goat, though.

The album was produced by Death Cab For Cutie’s Chris Walla and features the first true songwriting collaboration between the Quin sisters (“Paperback Head”).  Usually, they each write material separately (though all songs are usually credited to both of them), and initially the plan for this album was to write it together, but nothing for those sessions actually survived beyond the album’s title, named after a track that didn’t make the cut.  Though I’ve not been a big fan, I’ve kept my eyes and ears on the duo, and I hear a maturing, in content and context.  Their youthfulness is ripening into a seasoned and serious attitude (as evidenced in the line “I need distance from your body / I deserve this anguish on my house” from “Night Watch”).  There’s no great watershed moments here, but after 6 albums, I’m not truly expecting Tegan and Sara to blow me away.  What I expect–and what the deliver–is an accomplished and well-formed record of emotional complexity, intelligence, and deep insight.

MP3: Tegan and Sara “The Cure”
Myspace: Tegan and Sara