Honestly, if you were a certain kind of person in 2007—specifically the kind of person who spent too much time on LiveJournal or brooding in a dimly lit bedroom—Tegan and Sara The Con wasn't just an album. It was a tectonic shift. It’s been nearly two decades, and yet, those fourteen tracks still feel like a raw nerve.
The thing about The Con is that it shouldn't have worked as well as it did. It’s chaotic. It’s jittery. It sounds like two sisters having a simultaneous emotional breakdown while trying to outrun a metronome. But that's exactly why it stuck. While their previous record, So Jealous, gave us the indie-pop perfection of "Walking with a Ghost," The Con was the moment Tegan and Sara Quin decided to stop trying to be "agreeable" and started being haunting.
The Messy Reality of Tegan and Sara The Con
When people talk about this record, they usually mention Chris Walla from Death Cab for Cutie. He produced it, and his DNA is all over the place—that crisp, slightly nervous energy he brings to everything he touches. But the real magic happened before they even got to his studio in Portland.
Tegan and Sara recorded the demos for these songs in their own homes, often in literal closets. They were obsessed with the "weirdness" of those early tapes. Sara, in particular, was adamant about keeping the songs "looser" and less "perfect." You can hear it in the weird time signatures of "Are You Ten Years Ago" or the way the vocals in the title track, "The Con," seem to trip over themselves before finally locking into that massive, crashing chorus.
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The backstory is pretty heavy, too. Tegan was coming off the back of a five-year relationship ending. Sara was dealing with the bureaucratic nightmare of trying to get a visa for her American girlfriend so they could live together in Canada. Oh, and their grandmother had just passed away. It was a "perfect storm" of grief, transition, and aging. Tegan famously said there was "blood all over the record." She wasn't kidding.
Why It Hit Different
Before 2007, Tegan and Sara were often pigeonholed. Critics loved to talk about their hair or the fact they were twins rather than the actual songwriting. The Con changed that. It was too dark and too technically interesting to ignore.
- The Instrumentation: They brought in heavy hitters. Matt Sharp (Weezer/The Rentals) and Hunter Burgan (AFI) handled bass duties. Jason McGerr from Death Cab was on drums. Kaki King played lap steel.
- The Structure: Most songs are under three minutes. They punch you in the gut and then leave before you can catch your breath. "Soil, Soil" is barely over a minute long, yet it feels like a whole short story.
- The Lyrics: "Well nobody likes to, but I really like to cry." It’s a line from the title track that, on paper, sounds almost silly. But the way it's delivered? It's the most honest thing you've ever heard.
What People Get Wrong About the Legacy
There’s a misconception that The Con was an instant, massive commercial smash. It actually debuted at number 34 on the Billboard 200, selling about 19,000 copies in its first week. Respectable for indie artists in the mid-2000s, but it wasn't a "chart-topper" in the traditional sense. Its power was in its longevity.
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It became the blueprint for a whole generation of "sad girl" pop and queer indie rock. You can hear its echoes in artists like MUNA, Lorde, and even Paramore's later work. In fact, for the 10th anniversary, the twins released The Con X: Covers, where artists like Hayley Williams, Grimes, and CHVRCHES paid tribute. That’s when you realize how much this record seeped into the collective consciousness. It didn't just sell units; it built a world.
The Contrast of Tegan and Sara
If you listen to their later, more polished pop stuff like Heartthrob, it’s almost hard to believe it’s the same band. But the seeds of that pop sensibility are right here. "Back in Your Head" is a legitimate earworm, even if it is about the paralyzing fear of being forgotten.
They were navigating this weird middle ground. They weren't quite the folk-strummers of their early career anymore, but they weren't yet the synth-pop juggernauts they'd become. They were just... there. In the middle of the mess.
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Navigating the Tracks: A Quick Guide
If you're revisiting the album or (lucky you) hearing it for the first time, don't just stick to the singles.
- I Was Married: A 90-second opener that sets the stakes. It’s about the desire for domesticity and the barriers to it.
- Nineteen: The quintessential "heartbreak" song. It’s loud, it’s desperate, and it captures that specific feeling of being young and thinking the world is ending because someone left.
- Dark Come Soon: This is the twins' favorite. It’s moody and atmospheric, ending the album on a note that isn't exactly "happy," but it feels resolved. Sorta.
- Call It Off: The ultimate closer. Simple acoustic guitar, devastating lyrics. "Maybe I would've been something you'd be good at." Ouch.
What to Do Next
If you want to really get the full experience of this era, don't just stream the album. Dig up the "Making of The Con" videos on YouTube. They show the Quins in the studio with Chris Walla, arguing over vocal takes and being generally human. It strips away the "rock star" veneer and shows how much labor goes into making something sound that vulnerable.
You should also check out the The Con X covers. Seeing how someone like Kelly Lee Owens transforms "Soil, Soil" into a haunting electronic soundscape shows you just how strong the underlying songwriting is. These songs can be pulled apart and put back together in any genre and they still work.
Go back and listen to the title track. Pay attention to the way the drums come in. It’s like a heart starting to beat too fast. That’s the feeling of this album. It’s the sound of being terrified and doing it anyway.
Actionable Insights:
- Listen for the "Closet" Elements: Notice the tighter, more claustrophobic vocal sounds on tracks like "Relief Next to Me"—those are the remnants of the original home demos.
- Compare the Sisters: Tegan’s songs tend to be more driving and direct (like "The Con" and "Nineteen"), while Sara’s are often more experimental and rhythmically complex ("Are You Ten Years Ago").
- Watch the Documentary: Find It's Not Fun; Don't Do It for a behind-the-scenes look at their process during this pivotal career shift.