On 2013's Heartthrob, Tegan and Sara were on the leading edge of a pop curve now well-worn by the likes of Taylor Swift, Carly Rae Jepsen and others, drenching their needy, catchy love songs in a glossy, 1980s synthesizer sheen. Rather than taking another route — or, to borrow a song title, making a "U-Turn" — the sisters' follow-up record, Love You to Death, aims for the same stretch of road with an extra dose of pep in the tank.
The album's best hooks hit with dizzying force, from the "whoa-ohs" of the deliriously catchy "Stop Desire" to the pulsing keyboard riff that drives the aforementioned "U-Turn." And when Love You to Death slams on the brakes, as on the regretful piano ballad "100X," it offers a welcome change of pace that was somewhat absent from its predecessor.
The middle-of-the-road songs that skirt between the extremes ("Dying to Know," "White Knuckles") fail to leave as strong an impression, and the record does play a bit like a return trip through familiar terrain, but for the most part, Love You to Death finds Tegan and Sara offering another solid soundtrack for summer romances and road-trips alike.
(Warner)The album's best hooks hit with dizzying force, from the "whoa-ohs" of the deliriously catchy "Stop Desire" to the pulsing keyboard riff that drives the aforementioned "U-Turn." And when Love You to Death slams on the brakes, as on the regretful piano ballad "100X," it offers a welcome change of pace that was somewhat absent from its predecessor.
The middle-of-the-road songs that skirt between the extremes ("Dying to Know," "White Knuckles") fail to leave as strong an impression, and the record does play a bit like a return trip through familiar terrain, but for the most part, Love You to Death finds Tegan and Sara offering another solid soundtrack for summer romances and road-trips alike.
