Sister act Tegan and Sara told SPIN they were working on their “poppiest ever” album back in May, a bold statement that is fully backed up by our first taste of the as-yet untitled LP, which is due out on Warner in January. “Closer,” which premiered on Rolling Stone today, is pure Top 40 synthpop — think “Mr. Brightside”-era Killers, a fact we couldn’t fully glean when they tested out the song live last month.
“All I intended was to write something sweet that reminded the listener of a time before sex, complicated relationships, drama and heartbreak,” Tegan told RS. “In short, I was writing about my youth.”
Produced by Pink’s hitmaker Greg Kurstin and Beck’s old road warrior Justin Meldal-Johnsen, who most recently buffed M83’s Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming to its high-polish sheen, “Closer” has a glossy, driving, pop radio-friendly sound. “No matter how we’ve written songs in the past,” Sara told us, “we’d fall back on our old patterns and techniques. We wanted to work with people who would break us out of that. We were determined to make our most accessible and poppiest album. Every day in the studio has been a big surprise.”
Until the album arrives in the new year, the ladies are headlining a tour, as well as opening for the Black Keys and the Killers through December. Hear the new track and get Tegan and Sara tour dates below:
Headlining Dates
September 23 – Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theatre
September 24 – Seattle, WA @ Neptune
September 25 – Boise, ID @ Knitting Factory
September 28 – Eugene, OR @ Cuthbert Amphitheatre
September 29 – Mountain View, CA @ Harmony By The Bay Festival
October 11 – Dallas, TX @ Annette Strauss Square at AT&T Performing Arts Center
October 12 – Austin, TX @ Austin City Limits Music Festival
October 14 – Mexico City, Mexico @ Corona Capital Festival
With the Black Keys
October 1 – Fresno, CA @ Save Mart Center
October 2 – Santa Barbara , CA @ Santa Barbara Bowl
October 4 – San Diego, CA @ Valley View Casino
October 5 – Los Angeles, CA @ Staples Center
October 6 – Los Angeles, CA @ Staples Center
October 8 – Anaheim, CA @ Honda Center
October 9 – Phoenix, AZ @ US Air Arena
October 10 – Las Cruces, NM @ Pan American Center
With The Killers
October 26 – Glasgow, Lanarkshire @ Scottish Exhibition Centre
October 27 – Aberdeen, Scotland @ Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre
October 31 – Birmingham @ The LG Arena at The NEC
November 1 – Birmingham @ The LG Arena at The NEC
November 3 – Nottingham @ Capital FM Arena
November 4 – Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle @ Newcastle Metro Arena
November 5 – Cardiff @ Cardiff Motorpoint Arena
November 8 – Sheffield, South Yorkshire @ Motorpoint Arena
November 9 – Liverpool, Merseyside @ Echo Arena
November 13 – Manchester @ Manchester Arena
November 14 – Manchester @ Manchester Arena
November 16 – London @ O2 Arena
November 17 – London @ O2 Arena
November 29 – Broomfield, CO @ 1st Bank Center
November 30 – Orem, UT @ UCCU Center
December 3 – Vancouver, BC @ Pacific Coliseum
December 13 – Camden, NJ @ Susquehanna Bank Center
December 14 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
December 15 – Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre
December 17 – Boston, MA @ Agganis Arena
December 18 – Fairfax, VA @ Patriot Center
December 20 – Ypsilanti, MI @ EMU Convocation Center
December 21 – Chicago, IL @ UIC Pavilion
