The Con
| The Con | |||||
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Art by Storey Elementary Design
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| Studio album by Tegan and Sara | |||||
| Released | July 24, 2007 | ||||
| Format | CD, LP | ||||
| Recorded | January – March 12, 2007, in Portland, Oregon | ||||
| Length | 36:46 | ||||
| Label | Vapor, Sire, London | ||||
| Producer(s) | Tegan and Sara, Chris Walla | ||||
| Tegan and Sara chronology | |||||
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| Matt Sharp chronology | |||||
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The Con is the fifth album by Tegan and Sara. It was released on July 24, 2007. It features Matt Sharp on bass for half for the songs.
10th anniversary essay
Matt Sharp contributed a short written piece to an NPR article in July 2017 to mark the 10th anniversary of The Con.
The demos I'd received were already layered with these brilliant keyboards that Sara had played at her apartment in Montreal. They had a very distinct point of view and you could tell those sounds were going to color the album in a way that was unique to her. A couple years before I had scattered a few atmospheric synthesizers in the background of So Jealous, but it quickly became apparent that those same ingredients wouldn't be helpful here. The executive decision was made for me to try and add a little bass guitar instead, to be the barbaric yang to Hunter Burgan's proficient yin. Sara's keyboard parts had already filled the songs with boundless amounts of comforting low frequencies — so off I went on an adventure I rarely make, above the 12th fret.
I can remember sitting at the mixing board next to Chris [Walla]. He had this Raymond Babbitt ability to keep track of each time I was slightly ahead or behind the beat. Then he would ask me to play the same part one more time and with savant-like precision, he would "punch in" and "punch out" as the song rolled along on this glitchy, antiquated digital recording system that he seemed to love for some reason. After just one or two additional passes through whatever song we were working on, Chris would say, "Got it!" To which I would ask, "Got what?" and receive an economical, "Oh, nothing." He had the gift to make us sound like we were all one-take wonders. And before I knew it, I was on my way back home.
In some ways, The Con is that album most of us secretly hope our favorite band is just about to make: one where the raw desire to share their story leaves things a little rough around the edges. You may struggle a little to find your connection with albums like this one: They can be unsettling, a little off-center, odd in tone and difficult to understand, at first. But once you get there, after moving through the dissonance and making it to the other side, the bond that you share with that music can become so meaningful that it just might stay with you forever.
- -Matt Sharp, NPR article - July 18, 2017
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Was Married" | Sara Quin | 1:32 |
| 2. | "Relief Next to Me" | S. Quin | 3:01 |
| 3. | "The Con" | Tegan Quin | 3:30 |
| 4. | "Knife Going In" | S. Quin | 2:10 |
| 5. | "Are You Ten Years Ago" | T. Quin | 3:17 |
| 6. | "Back in Your Head" | S. Quin | 3:00 |
| 7. | "Hop a Plane" | T. Quin | 1:49 |
| 8. | "Soil, Soil" | T. Quin | 1:23 |
| 9. | "Burn Your Life Down" | S. Quin | 2:22 |
| 10. | "Nineteen" | T. Quin | 2:56 |
| 11. | "Floorplan" | S. Quin | 3:38 |
| 12. | "Like O, Like h" | S. Quin | 2:40 |
| 13. | "Dark Come Soon" | T. Quin | 3:07 |
| 14. | "Call It Off" | T. Quin | 2:21 |
| Total length: | 36:46 | ||
Personnel
- Tegan Quin – guitars, keyboards, piano, vocals
- Sara Quin – guitars, keyboards, piano, vocals
- Matt Sharp – bass (1, 2, 4, 6, 9, 11, 12)
- Hunter Burgan – bass (3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 13, 14)
- Kaki King – lap steel, guitar
- Jason McGerr – drums, percussion
- Christopher Walla – guitars, keyboards, organ, shakers, cymbals, tiny guitars, bass
- Ted Gowans – guitars, keyboards, organ
See also
External links
References
Footnotes