The duo has released nine studio albums so far: Under Feet Like Ours (1999), This Business of Art (2000), If It Was You (2002), So Jealous (2004), The Con (2007), Sainthood (2009), Heartthrob (2013), Love You to Death (2016) and Hey, I'm Just Like You (2019). They also issued the live album/DVD Get Along in 2011 and their memoir High School in 2019.
Tegan and Sara initially played as Plunk in 1995, and lacked a drummer and bass player. In 1997, they used their school’s recording studio to record two demo albums: Who's in Your Band? and Play Day.
In 1998, they made an early breakthrough by winning Garage Warz Battle of the Bands, a local music competition in Calgary. Since then, the two have toured with Neil Young, Rufus Wainwright, Kaki King, The Pretenders, Ben Folds, The Killers, Rachael Cantu, Vivek Shraya, Cake, Gogol Bordello, Hot Hot Heat, Ryan Adams, Veda Hille, Little Birdy, Iron On, Little Brazil, Bryan Adams, and Weezer, and they performed a show at Sarah McLachlan's Lilith Fair.
They are signed to Neil Young's Vapor Records in Canada, and to Sire in the United States as their previous label, Sanctuary Records, is no longer releasing new music in the United States.
When they were competing in Garage Warz, they were known as "Sara and Tegan" because that is how their mother registered them on the competition forms. Their first album, Under Feet Like Ours, was initially released under the name "Sara and Tegan". While both twins are similarly involved in vocals and playing instruments, the singing of the lead melody usually goes to whichever twin wrote the particular song. The two hardly sang together in the recordings of their early records, but they started to more on their later records and when live.
On their 2004 album, So Jealous, the two lend their unusual voices and simple guitar riffs to power pop ballads about love and emotional, haunting songs such as "Walking With a Ghost".
The fifth album, The Con, released July 24, 2007, showed a shift in style towards darker tunes compared to the relatively upbeat indie pop of So Jealous. The singles "Back in Your Head", "The Con" and "Call It Off" were issued to support the album. The twins toured the album for over a year and a half.
Their sixth studio album, entitled Sainthood, was released on October 27th, 2009, to generally positive reviews. The album included the singles "Hell", "Alligator", "On Directing" and "Northshore".
Tegan and Sara also collaborated with many other artists, including Tiësto for the single "Feel It in My Bones" (from the album Kaleidoscope, 2009), and Morgan Page for the single "Body Work" (from the album In the Air, 2012).
"Closer", the first single from their seventh album was produced by Californian pop producer Greg Kurstin. The song was made available for download September 25, 2012. On 29 January 2013, Tegan and Sara released their seventh studio album, Heartthrob.
The duo's eighth studio album, titled Love You To Death, was released on 3 June 2016. The lead single Boyfriend was released on 8 April. Greg Kurstin returned as the producer.
On October 20, 2017, the duo released a compilation album titled Tegan and Sara Present the Con X: Covers, to celebrate the tenth anniversary of The Con. The compilation contains covers of each song performed by various artists, as well as a previously unreleased demo “Miami Still”, performed by the duo. The proceeds of the record and subsequent tour benefitted the Tegan and Sara Foundation, which raises money for self-identified women and girls in the LGBTQ community.
The duo released their memoir, High School, on 27 September 2019. It recounts their childhood and adolescence growing up in Alberta in the 1990s as well as their musical beginnings. The book debuted at number fifteen on The New York Times Hardcover Nonfiction best-sellers list. Along with the book, Tegan and Sara's released their ninth studio album, Hey, I'm Just Like You, which contains re-recordings of unreleased demo songs that the duo recorded as teenagers. The record was produced by Alex Hope and is the first Tegan and Sara record produced, performed, engineered, mixed, and mastered by a team of all women. The band embarked on a US, Canada and UK tour to promote the book and album, playing mostly acoustically, reading excerpts from the book and incorporating old video footage from the band's teenage years.
The current live touring band members include Ted Gowans (guitar; 2004-present), Jasper Leak (bass; 2012-present), John Spence (keyboards; 2012-present), and Adam Christgau (drums; 2013-present). Former live touring band members include Johnny Andrews (drums; 2006-2010), Shaun Huberts (bass; 2007-2010), Dan Kelly (bass; 2007), Chris Carlson (bass; 2001-2005), Rob Chursinoff (drums; 2001-2005) and Jason McGerr (drums; 2012).
Official site: http://www.teganandsara.com
Hell
Tegan and Sara Lyrics
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No I'm not ready for downtown trash before collection
Four blocks, run and hide
Don't walk around at night
Cityscape city change before they die
Four blocks I should mention in a song
If I want to get along to change
Who doesn't want to change this?
I know you feel it too
These words get overused
When we get up and over it and over them
Up and over it and over them
I know you feel it too
It all seems so untrue
When you get up and over it and over them
Uh oh, oh no, uh oh, oh no
No we're not ready for fair distribution
Just determine the solution for
No we're not ready for hell, hell, no, for hell, hell, no
Four days wide awake wide slide along and say
Girl's afraid, girl will change, just move away
Four days that I mention in a song move along
Get ahead, get her hand to bring home with you
I know you feel it too
These words get overused
When we get up and over it and over them
Up and over it and over them
I know you feel it too
It all seems so untrue
When you get up and over it and over them
Uh oh, oh no, uh oh, oh no
Four ways to remove all the bad that we do
From the heart and the soul of the city, sad and cold
Four ways to collect what we say and what we save
To discard and discover a brand new way
I know you feel it too
These words get overused
When we get up and over it and over them
Up and over it and over them
I know you feel it too
It all seems so untrue
When you get up and over it and over them
Up and over it and over them
I know you feel it too
These words get overused
When we get up and over it and over them
Up and over it and over them
I know you feel it too
It all seems so untrue
When you get up and over it and over them
Uh oh, oh no, uh oh, oh no
Uh oh, oh no, uh oh, oh no
The song “Hell” by Tegan and Sara explores the feeling of being unprepared for big changes, both personally and in society. The lyrics “No, I'm not ready for big bad step in the direction” suggests the unwillingness to move towards change even if it's necessary. The song presents the idea of a society that is not yet prepared for change, even if it could bring fair distribution, and four blocks that are unsafe to walk around at night.
The repetitive lyrics “I know you feel it too” suggest that the singers are addressing someone else, and both parties are feeling the uncertainty and the weight of the pressure to change. The song underscores the idea that change can only come after discarding the old ways, and moving towards a new direction, which is emphasized in the lyrics, “Four ways to remove all the bad that we do from the heart and the soul of the city, sad and cold, Four ways to collect what we say and what we save.”
Overall, the song “Hell” is a powerful and poetic reflection of society's struggle with change, presenting the idea that a brighter future can only come after precious steps are taken.
Line by Line Meaning
No I'm not ready for big bad step in the direction
I am not prepared to take a risky move towards something unknown
No I'm not ready for downtown trash before collection
I am not prepared for the ugliness and chaos of the city before authorities clean it up
Four blocks, run and hide
I prefer to escape rather than face the dangers that are lurking around the corner
Don't walk around at night
It isn't safe to be outside after dark
Cityscape city change before they die
The city is in dire need of change before it's too late
Four blocks I should mention in a song
I should write about the four blocks that define what's wrong with this city
If I want to get along to change
If I want to bring about change, I need to expose the problems first
Who doesn't want to change this?
Everybody should want to change this, it's the right thing to do
I know you feel it too
I know you share my feelings about this matter
These words get overused
These same ideas have been repeated too often
When we get up and over it and over them
When we overcome these issues and replace old ideas with new ones
Up and over it and over them
Rising above these issues and the words used to describe them
It all seems so untrue
It feels like none of this can be real, like a bad dream
No we're not ready for fair distribution
We aren't prepared to distribute resources and opportunities equally
Just determine the solution for
Just find the answer that solves the problem
No we're not ready for hell, hell, no, for hell, hell, no
We won't settle for a life of chaos and suffering, no way
Four days wide awake wide slide along and say
Four days straight, we must stay alert and push through to the other end
Girl's afraid, girl will change, just move away
The girl is scared, but she will change and leave this place for good
Four days that I mention in a song move along
These four days are worth mentioning in a song, but we must keep moving forward
Get ahead, get her hand to bring home with you
Succeed and take her with you to build a better life
Four ways to remove all the bad that we do
Four methods to eliminate the negative actions that we commit
From the heart and the soul of the city, sad and cold
From the deepest emotions and essence of the downtrodden city
Four ways to collect what we say and what we save
Four strategies to gather and conserve our words and our resources
To discard and discover a brand new way
To get rid of the old patterns and invent a fresh approach
Uh oh, oh no, uh oh, oh no
An exclamation of anxiety and disapproval
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Sara Keirsten Quin, Tegan Rain Quin, Hunter Burgan
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind