Harbingers of political madness they may be but the duo, completed by Sara’s identical twin Tegan, are also bearers of synth-pop magic. Having started life as under-the-radar indie-rockers, the Canadians’ latest two albums — 2013’s Heartthrob and 2016’s Love You To Death — see them go for the pop jugular. In doing so, they’ve picked up high-profile fans in Taylor Swift and are now popular enough to headline this iconic venue.
Tegan leads most of the songs but it’s when the sisters’ voices blend that the magic happens. I Couldn’t Be Your Friend and Goodbye, Goodbye were slices of emotive synth-pop to move hearts and feet.
The sisters, who are both gay, have started to address their sexuality more directly in the newer material. “All the girls I’ve loved before told me they signed up for more,” they sang on BWU, a song about gay marriage. Bolstered by a three-piece band, they rocked on Northshore before stripping things back for an acoustic interlude. The Con, the title track from their 2007 album, which Tegan described as her favourite record, was stark and desolate.
While the suspicion remains that this may be the music closest to the sisters’ hearts, it’s their new direction that’s finally getting them noticed. And if last night had have been an election, this would have been a landslide victory.
