TEAM LAST CALL

With the release of their 2004 pop gem So Jealous, Tegan and Sara Quin established themselves as the indie-pop world’s twin queens of cuteness.
In the years that followed, they toured with everyone from The Killers to Neil Young, graced the year-end “best-of” list of nearly every magazine that counts and were famously covered by the White Stripes. As if that weren’t enough to make the gossip columns, Tegan and Sara also caused a stir as the world’s first pop duo to be comprised of identical twin Canadian lesbians.
On their highly anticipated sixth album, The Con, Tegan and Sara continue on their journey into the darkest depths of indie-pop. Produced by Death Cab’s Chris Walla, the record is at once enjoyably depressing and confusingly uplifting. Front to back, it’s the darkest, spookiest 34-minute pop hook you’ll hear all year. Team Last Call tracked down Sara at home in Montreal to talk about life as a twin, a lesbian and … oh yeah … a brilliant musician.

Team Last Call: The Con has a really melancholy feel. The songs are like this big tangle of relationships and personal issues that you’re caught up in.
Sara Quin: I’ve never sat down and thought, “I’m going to write a really happy song. It’s gonna sound really happy and the lyrics are going to be really happy!” I always sit down and write songs that feel heart-wrenching.
There’s an introspective, melancholy nature to life and to relationships. I was just reading an e-mail today from this girl who was madly in love, and yet her e-mail sounded so sad. And I was like, “What is it about love that makes us feel sad?” I wonder if it’s the intuitive, maybe even subconscious understanding that ultimately you’re alone, and even if you’re connected to someone, it’s just a matter of time until you’re not. I know that’s kind of a pessimistic view of love and relationships. [laughs] I think that Tegan and I both have a tendency to sort of fixate on those topics, and we sort of both live on that emotional plane.

TLC: How does having a twin sister in your band affect the whole dynamic?
SQ: I think there’s something unconditional about the relationship that Tegan and I have. We’re related and we love each other. The relationship between us is different than, say, the relationship I have with my drummer. If I’m really pissed at my drummer, I have to think of a way to deal with it that is professional and appropriate. I’m his employer and we’re friends. There are these awkward things you have to navigate all the time with other humans. But there’s something about your family where you can bypass all of that and just get to the root of it. You can go, “You’re a fucking asshole. You’re driving me insane,” and then just move on.

TLC: “Identical twin lesbians” is like a music journalist’s dream headline. Do you think people make too much of it?
SQ: I certainly wouldn’t highlight that or focus on it. It’s as relevant or irrelevant as, you know, whether or not somebody is heterosexual. Me and Tegan being gay is just a part of who we are, and there’s no part of me that feels ashamed about that or uncomfortable about that. But on the other hand, how many articles start with, “White, heterosexual …”

TLC: Right! “White heterosexual singer-songwriter John Mayer is releasing a new album …”
SQ: [laughs] But I don’t write the articles. I don’t choose to focus on those things. We try to be interesting and talk about a lot of different things. I mean, I could talk for 10 years about my writing process and my life and my views on politics and philosophy. I’m an intelligent person, and I can pretty much riff on any topic you can give me. But ultimately, almost every article that has ever come out talks about exactly the same things and mentions that we’re gay and identical twins. It’s managed to not hurt what is a really satisfying career. We have a really great audience and support from the media, so I try not to complain too much.

TLC: As a fan of your music, I’m not quite convinced that I should really care about your sexuality. It’s more of a distraction than anything.
SQ: I always find it interesting that a guy will be like, “I mean, I really relate to your music. Why do you think that me, a guy, can relate to what you do, when you’re gay?”
In a weird way, we have so much in common, me and the hetero dudes. We both like girls! We’re singing about girls, you like girls – can’t we all just get along? [laughs]

TLC: So many things have happened for you guys in the past 10 years, any of which you could look at and kind of have your mind blown.
SQ: Oh my god, yes. I mean, looking at it all on paper is mind-blowing. But when you’re living through it, it’s just a job. It’s been 10 years of work, and there’s like 360 days of every year that are hard and boring. You’re out there fighting tooth and nail to get paid 50 bucks. Then something great happens, and you’re like, “Thank god! I was just about to quit!”
We really want to make sure that we establish a career that’s not going to disappear overnight. The fact that we can go out and tour, and a lot of times fund our own tours internationally, that’s really exciting to us. But at some point I’m going to have to figure out exactly how it is that I’m going to put shoes on my kids’ feet and retire at some age. In terms of our career, I just want to keep making records and keep playing bigger shows and meeting great artists and writing great records. I can’t imagine that ever stopping.