Canadian indie-pop duo Tegan and Sara recently dropped their eighth studio album, Love You to Death (produced by Greg Kurstin, who was also responsible for their seventh album) — and there’s a lot to like about it.
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Identical twin sisters Tegan and Sara Quin have proven themselves to be a formidable force in the music industry and an act that we expect will continue to enjoy success and longevity. So, since they’re going to be around for a long time, here’s what you need to know.
1. Tegan is older (slightly)
First things first. Born in Calgary, Alberta, it’s no secret that Tegan and Sara are twins, but what you may not have known is that Tegan is eight minutes older.
2. Grey’s Anatomy loves them
In 2005, Tegan and Sara enjoyed huge commercial success, touring the United States with The Killers as well as winning over ABC’s hugely popular series, Grey’s Anatomy, which featured seven of their songs.
3. We can thank them for The Lego Movie theme tune
The Lego Movie was a box office smash hit, but it was the “Everything Is Awesome” theme tune that really stuck in our heads days after we saw the film. And guess who was responsible for the super-catchy track?
4. The industry loves them as much as the public
Tegan and Sara have won numerous awards, including three Juno Awards, a Double Platinum certification, two Polaris Prize nominations and a Grammy nomination. They’ve also sold more than a million albums. Impressive, right?
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5. Courtney Love was a huge influence
Tegan and Sara have acknowledged a wide range of musical influences, including Cyndi Lauper, Sinéad O’Connor, Green Day, Nirvana and Hole. Speaking of the all-female indie-rock band fronted by Courtney Love, Tegan said, “It was Hole that truly started to cement our desire to write and make our own music. It was shortly after [Live Through This] came out that Sara and I started to play guitar and write music. Stand out track: ‘Miss World.'”
6. They’ve done the LGBTQ community proud
Their music may not be political, but Tegan and Sara are. Both sisters are openly gay and are advocates for the LGBTQ community, including making a video for the It Gets Better project — to inspire and support LGBTQ youth, who are often taunted because of their sexuality.
7. Their first taste of success was a battle of the bands
In 1998, while they were still in high school, the 17-year-old sisters entered a local college battle of the bands “Garage Warz.” According to Last FM, they were referred to as Sara and Tegan while competing because that’s what their mother wrote on the competition forms.
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8. They fight just as much as all sisters
In fact, at one point the duo were in a very bad place, with Sara admitting to Rolling Stone that in 2006 they hit a breaking point while touring for The Con (their fifth studio album).
“I was able to step back and look at what we had already accomplished, and I thought, ‘Here we are, literally at blows with each other backstage. We are verbally abusing each other to no end. This is unhealthy,'” she said. “On the other hand, I realized we’d never killed each other and we do have the same goals. I started to think of our relationship as being successful instead of being difficult.”
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