TEGAN AND SARA > Sainthood

TEGAN AND SARA

Sainthood

(SIRE/VAPOR)

[Rating: 3.5 Stars]

Tegan and Sara like to keep their distance. It’s not that the twin Quin sisters are incapable of opening up and sharing–-on their sixth album, Sainthood, they actually inch a little closer to spilling some secrets-–they just see don’t see much need in letting you get too cozy in their world. That’s why the 29-year-old Canadians rarely sing about their sexuality (they’re both lesbians), their musical rivalry (their songwriting styles are as distinct as Lennon and McCartney’s), or their struggles (there never seems to be much heartbreak in their songs–which is a bit odd since most of them are about love). But you really won’t care too much, since the indie-pop duo pens such hook-filled songs. Like he did on 2007’s The Con, Death Cab for Cutie’s Chris Walla coats the tunes in glistening bursts of aural colors. Songs like “Arrow” and “Alligator” ring, chime, and ride new-wave synths to the Quins’ most electronically blippy and happy-sounding album. Tegan and Sara also plug in and tear through “Northshore” like sneering punks. Romantic idealism is a recurring theme on Sainthood; just don’t expect to pick up too many pointers.