WHO ARE THEY? The Calgary-raised twin sisters who have been making personal yet polished folk and indie-pop together since high school — and who just published a memoir fittingly titled High School.
WHAT IS THIS? Their ninth album, in keeping with the time frame of their autobiography, contains 12 synth-pop songs pieced together from 20 of the many demos the precocious pair wrote and recorded as teenagers in the late ’90s (and recently rediscovered after two decades).
WHAT DOES IT SOUND LIKE? Not surprisingly, as loaded with teen angst and naivety as you might figure — and as you can tell from titles like Hold My Breath Until I Die, Please Help Me, We Don’t Have Fun When We’re Together Anymore and (my favourite) Keep Them Close ’Cause They Will Fuck You Too. Thankfully, the songs themselves sound a lot more sophisticated and mature than their titles — likely due to the more recent reconstructive musical surgery mentioned above.
WHAT WOULD BE A BETTER TITLE FOR THIS ALBUM? Growing Up In Public.
HOW SHOULD I LISTEN TO IT? While looking through your yearbook and reflecting on what you’ve achieved since then.
WHAT 10 WORDS DESCRIBE IT? Youthful, earnest, intense, melodic, confessional, charming, collaborative, bittersweet, starry eyed, direct.
WHAT ARE THE BEST SONGS? It’s a consistently strong disc, but the chuggy anthems I’ll Be Back Someday and I Know I’m Not the Only One match their lyrical bite with some edgy energy.
WHAT WILL MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY SAY? ‘Wow, these are a lot better than the songs you wrote when you were 15.’
HOW OFTEN WILL I LISTEN TO THIS? Whenever you want to remember what it was like to be 15 — for better or (mostly) worse.
IF THIS ALBUM WERE SCHOOL SUPPLIES, WHAT WOULD IT BE? Trapper Keepers.
SHOULD I BUY, STREAM OR STEAL IT? These songs were 20 years in the making. That deserves a little something.
