Tegan and Sara Explore Emotional Themes with new Album 'Crybaby'

Written by Zoe Tevyaw, photography by Dustin Rabin

Tegan and Sara are hitting double digits with their 10th studio album Crybaby releasing October 21st, 2022. Following the 2019 album Hey, I’m Just Like You, this is the duo’s first full-length album release under indie label Mom + Pop Music. The project focuses on sonic consistency described by Tegan Quin as centered around the connection of both the writing and production processes.

Their first single release under Mom + Pop, “F*****g Up What Matters”, came out in April of 2022 and revealed nothing of another potential new album. It describes falling in love accidentally and the resentment from love happening imperfectly. The music video released with the track pokes fun at the duo’s vast library of past videos, using the clever premise of “How to Make a Music Video: By Tegan and Sara” with instructions and behind-the-scenes visuals playing over the new release. “F*****g Up What Matters” introduces listeners to the reconfigured sound that will define the Crybaby era with dynamic and high energy instrumentals, angst-driven melodies, and themes at the intersection of falling in and out of love while growing into yourself.

The Quin sisters officially announced the coming of Crybaby with a music video release titled “Yellow” playing on a slower, atmospheric groove about the process of emotionally detaching from a toxic relationship. “Yellow” pays homage to the famous Coldplay video for their song of the same name, following the sisters simply walking along the beach in a downpour. The Tegan and Sara “Yellow” video utilizes slow motion effects to contrast the two voices and uniquely build from the Coldplay foundation.

The following two singles, “Faded Like a Feeling” and “I Can’t Grow Up,” both touch on the theme of love as well from vastly different angles. “Faded Like a Feeling” provides a somber, nostalgia-filled ballad with lyrics describing the growing pains felt by falling in and out of love too quickly. The music video is simple, but haunting with a show of swings in an otherwise dark, empty playground. “I Can’t Grow Up” provides the antithesis using high energy and big sounds for a distinctive rock n' roll edge accompanying lyrics describing puppy love carried into adulthood. The “I Can't Grow Up” music video features an array of fun, colorful aesthetics and jump cuts that add to the song’s carefree feel.

During all the madness of the Crybaby album release, Tegan and Sara are also in the midst of releasing their 8-episode Prime Video series High School, adapted from their joint memoir of the same title. The show was released to the streaming service on October 14th. Starring twin TikTok stars Railey and Seazynn Gilliland, the series is an honest, enrapturing portrayal of the indie icons’ early life and sisterhood with no shortage of dramatic moments and 90s nostalgia. High School breaks Tegan and Sara further out of their typical and into a new medium of creativity with a highly relatable story that remains autobiographical enough to lend itself to their musical career.