Sainthood (album)
Encyclopedia
Sainthood is the sixth studio album by the Canadian rock duo Tegan and Sara
, released on October 27, 2009 by Sire Records
.
The album was a shortlisted nominee for the 2010 Polaris Music Prize
.
lyric. The record also includes co-written songs from Tegan's side project with Hunter Burgan
, bassist of AFI
.
The album is described by the band as such:
Sainthood was released in the UK on 26 October 2009.
The album was produced by Death Cab for Cutie
guitarist Chris Walla
and was tracked at Sound City Studios in Los Angeles
and Two Sticks Audio in Seattle during the summer of 2009.
Tegan and Sara released the full album for online streaming on their MySpace
page on 20 October 2009.
EE Storey
, the band's artistic director, designed the album artwork.
When speaking with Alter the Press! in November 2009, the band revealed that the second single to be lifted from Sainthood would be "Alligator".
.
The album debuted at #21 on the Billboard 200, selling 22,665 copies in its first week.
Their song "Hell" came in at number 99 on the Australian Triple J Hottest 100
in 2009.
Tegan and Sara
Tegan and Sara are a Canadian indie band composed of identical twin sisters Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Keirsten Quin . Both Tegan and Sara play guitar and keyboard and write songs.-History:...
, released on October 27, 2009 by Sire Records
Sire Records
Sire Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer, each investing ten thousand dollars into the new company. Its early releases as a...
.
The album was a shortlisted nominee for the 2010 Polaris Music Prize
2010 Polaris Music Prize
The 2010 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 20, 2010. The gala presentation was held at Toronto's Masonic Temple, and was hosted by Grant Lawrence of CBC Radio 3 and Sarah Taylor of MuchMusic....
.
Track listing
Bonus tracks
Background
This is the first album by Tegan and Sara to feature a song co-written by the pair, as they usually choose to write separately. However, it was not written while Tegan and Sara stayed together in New Orleans as an attempt to write together. No songs from that time made it on to the album, although one such song lends its title to that of the record. The album title was inspired by a Leonard CohenLeonard Cohen
Leonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...
lyric. The record also includes co-written songs from Tegan's side project with Hunter Burgan
Hunter Burgan
Hunter Lawrence Burgan is an American multi-instrumentalist. He is the third and current bass guitarist of AFI.-Biography:Burgan grew up in Grass Valley, California. He is vegan.-Career:...
, bassist of AFI
AFI (band)
AFI is an American alternative rock band from Ukiah, California that formed in 1991. They have consisted of the same lineup since 1998: lead vocalist Davey Havok, drummer and backup vocalist Adam Carson, with bassist Hunter Burgan and guitarist Jade Puget, who both play keyboard and contribute...
.
The album is described by the band as such:
Tegan and Sara's sixth studio album – Sainthood – addresses secular themes of devotion, delusion, and exemplary behavior in the pursuit of love and relationships. Inspired by emotional longing and the quiet actions we hope may be noticed by the objects of our affection, Sainthood is about obsession with romantic ideals.
In the service of relationships we practice being perfect. We practice our sainthood in the hope that we will be rewarded with adoration. As we are driven to become anything for someone else, we sometimes become martyrs for our cause.
Love, like faith, can never be held in an individual's hands. But the story of a great love affair – especially one that is unrequited or has ended too soon – can be woven like scripture or a bedtime story. And so the themes of Sainthood are tied together by this simple title, borrowed, with great respect, from the lyrics of the Leonard Cohen song "Came So Far for Beauty":
I practiced all my sainthood /
I gave to one and all /
But the rumours of my virtue /
They moved her not at all.
Sainthood was released in the UK on 26 October 2009.
The album was produced by Death Cab for Cutie
Death Cab for Cutie
Death Cab for Cutie is an American alternative rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington in 1997. The band consists of Ben Gibbard , Chris Walla , Nick Harmer and Jason McGerr ....
guitarist Chris Walla
Chris Walla
Christopher Walla is an American musician and music producer, most notable for being the guitarist for the band Death Cab for Cutie. He is also a former DJ of KCWU, 88.1 The Burg...
and was tracked at Sound City Studios in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and Two Sticks Audio in Seattle during the summer of 2009.
Tegan and Sara released the full album for online streaming on their MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
page on 20 October 2009.
EE Storey
EE Storey
Emily "Emy" Storey is a Montreal-based art director, graphic designer and illustrator. Born in Kinderhook, New York, Storey moved to Montreal to study Design Art at Concordia University, where she received her Fine Arts degree in 2003....
, the band's artistic director, designed the album artwork.
When speaking with Alter the Press! in November 2009, the band revealed that the second single to be lifted from Sainthood would be "Alligator".
Critical reception
The album was generally well received by critics, scoring 78 out of 100 from 17 reviews on review aggregator MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
.
The album debuted at #21 on the Billboard 200, selling 22,665 copies in its first week.
Their song "Hell" came in at number 99 on the Australian Triple J Hottest 100
Triple J Hottest 100
The Triple J Hottest 100 is an annual music poll, based on the votes of national Australian radio station Triple J listeners, in order to determine their favourite song of the year. Voting is conducted by the internet and begins roughly two weeks prior to the new year for the previous year's songs...
in 2009.
Sales chart performance
| Chart (2009) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian Albums Chart | 4 |
| Australian Albums Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
21 |
| Billboard 200 Billboard charts The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine... |
21 |
Production
- Howard RedekoppHoward RedekoppHoward Redekopp is a Vancouver, British Columbia-based Canadian music producer/mixer/engineer.In 2009, Rolling Stone ranked one of Howard's projects, The New Pornographers' Electric Version, #79 in the "100 Best Albums of the Decade".-Discography:...
- ProducerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, Engineer - Chris WallaChris WallaChristopher Walla is an American musician and music producer, most notable for being the guitarist for the band Death Cab for Cutie. He is also a former DJ of KCWU, 88.1 The Burg...
- ProducerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, MixerMixing engineerA mix engineer is the person responsible for incorporating all the different recorded elements of music to make the final version of a song. These mixing professionals have many years of experience and training with audio equipment which has enabled them to master the art of audio mixing...
(Tracks 1, 7, 11) - Dave SardyDave SardyDavid Sardy is a Brooklyn born-and-raised composer, musician, songwriter, and record producer- Biography :...
- MixerMixing engineerA mix engineer is the person responsible for incorporating all the different recorded elements of music to make the final version of a song. These mixing professionals have many years of experience and training with audio equipment which has enabled them to master the art of audio mixing...
(Tracks 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13) - Stephen MarcussenStephen MarcussenStephen Marcussen is the founder and chief mastering engineer of Marcussen Mastering in Hollywood, California. Marcussen is one of the most sought-after mastering engineers in the music industry and his expertise has been coveted by a wide range of artists over the years...
- MasteringMastering engineerA mastering engineer is one skilled in the practice of taking audio that has been previously mixed in either the analog or digital domain as mono, stereo, or multichannel formats and preparing it for use in distribution, whether by physical media such as a CD, vinyl record, or as some method of... - Andrew MauryAndrew MauryAndrew Maury is an American producer/engineer/mixer based out of New York City. Andrew also tours mixing front-of-house for Ra Ra Riot and GIVERS. Andrew co-produced and engineered the Ra Ra Riot's second album, The Orchard...
- Logic Operator - Adam Fuller - Sound City Assistant
- Jackson Long - Two Sticks Assistant
- Alec Gomez - Dave Sardy Assistant
- Andy Brohard - Dave Sardy Engineer