The Con (album)

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The Con
The Con cover
Studio album by Tegan and Sara
Released July 24, 2007 (2007-07-24)
Recorded January 2007 – March 12, 2007
Genre Indie pop
Length 37:37
Label Vapor, Sire, London
Producer Tegan and Sara, Chris Walla
Professional reviews
Tegan and Sara chronology
So Jealous
(2004)		 The Con
(2007)

The Con is Tegan and Sara's fifth full-length studio album, released on July 24, 2007 (February 18, 2008 in the United Kingdom). Guest performers on the album include Jason McGerr of Death Cab for Cutie, Matt Sharp of The Rentals (on Sara's songs), Hunter Burgan of AFI (on Tegan's songs) and Kaki King.[1][2][3]

Contents

[edit] Background

As announced on their MySpace blog, a special edition CD/DVD was released at the same time as the CD-only version. The CD/DVD release has a parental advisory warning for profanity on the DVD, although the CD contains no explicit content.[4]

"Back in Your Head" is the first single, and "The Con" is also being used heavily for promotional purposes. According to Rolling Stone, "The Con" is the second single.[5] The vinyl release of this album includes a promotional copy of "The Con" on CD.

According to the DVD edition of the album, Sugar, Spell It Out was a tentative album title.[6] The DVD also reveals the title track "The Con" was tentatively titled "Encircle Me" and "Like O, Like H" was previously titled "SOS."

EE Storey, the band's artistic director, designed the album art.

For their world tour of this album, they have posted a series of videos called "Trailer Talk" on their MySpace profile.

1,500 copies of The Con demos were sold for charity at concerts.

[edit] Critical Reception

The Con received positive reviews from the media. The album debuted at number 34 on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling about 19,000 copies in its first week.[7] On week 2, the album fell out of the top 50, at #69, selling about 10,000 that week, totaling at 29,000.

Filter Magazine calls The Con "a startlingly dark, yet characteristically vibrant offering, featuring a band that’s learned to harness the energy-highs, while tempering pretty (even pastoral) pop-folk with a new, deeply-affecting brand of melancholy." PopMatters gives The Con a score of 8 out of 10, calling it "very, very good. To be more precise, it is one of the best albums so far of 2007 and one of the best recent pop releases." The A.V. club says that "ultimately even The Con's failings work in its favor, providing a macro version of what the best Tegan And Sara songs do, by stumbling along recklessly, then falling together."

[edit] Track listing

  1. "I Was Married" (Sara Quin) – 1:36
  2. "Relief Next to Me" (S. Quin) – 3:04
  3. "The Con" (Tegan Quin) – 3:33
  4. "Knife Going In" (S. Quin) – 2:13
  5. "Are You Ten Years Ago" (T. Quin) – 3:21
  6. "Back in Your Head" (S. Quin) – 3:00
  7. "Hop a Plane" (T. Quin) – 1:53
  8. "Soil, Soil" (T. Quin) – 1:27
  9. "Burn Your Life Down" (S. Quin) – 2:26
  10. "Nineteen" (T. Quin) – 3:00
  11. "Floorplan" (S. Quin) – 3:41
  12. "Like O, Like H" (S. Quin) – 2:43
  13. "Dark Come Soon" (T. Quin) – 3:11
  14. "Call It Off" (T. Quin) – 2:25

[edit] DVD features

  • The Con: The Movie (Making of the album)
  • Extras
    • Ptosis: Explained
    • Ptosis Outtakes
    • Duct Tape Dreads
    • Feelings Report

[edit] Personnel

  • Tegan Quin – guitars, keyboards, piano, vocals
  • Sara Quin – guitars, keyboard, piano, vocals
  • Christopher Walla – guitars (6, 10), keyboards (12), organ (6), shakers (6), cymbals (5), tiny guitars (5, 14), bass (4, 9)
  • Ted Gowans – guitars (2, 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 14), keyboards (2, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 12, 13), organ (13)
  • Matt Sharp – bass (1, 2, 6, 11, 12) on all of Sara's songs
  • Hunter Burgan – bass (3, 7, 8, 10, 13, 14) on all of Tegan's songs
  • Kaki King – lap steel (4), guitar (11)
  • Jason McGerr – drums, percussion
v • d • e
Tegan and Sara
Sara Quin · Tegan Quin
Albums
Under Feet Like Ours · This Business of Art · If It Was You · So Jealous · The Con · The Con Demos
Singles
"Time Running" · "I Hear Noises" · "Monday Monday Monday" · "Walking With a Ghost" · "Speak Slow" · "Back in Your Head" · "The Con" ·
Demos / EPs
Yellow Demo · Orange Demo · Red Demo · Tegan and Sara EP · I'll Take the Blame EP ·
DVDs
It's Not Fun, Don't Do It! · The Con: The Movie
Related articles

[edit] References

  1. ^ Tegan & Sara Update - News Article - AbsolutePunk.net
  2. ^ Katie Hasty, "Tegan & Sara Weigh Pros And 'Cons' On New CD", Billboard.com, March 18, 2007.
  3. ^ Filter-Mag.com
  4. ^ allmusic ((( The Con [CD/DVD] > Overview )))
  5. ^ Tegan and Sara : Discography : Rolling Stone
  6. ^ YouTube - The Con
  7. ^ Katie Hasty, "'NOW 25' Fends Off 'Hairspray,' Prince To Remain No. 1", Billboard.com, August 1, 2007.

[edit] External links