Guess what? You weirdos can finally take a breath, because Tegan and Sara are back and there’s a new album and you can actually listen to their new single right now! Tegan and Sara were on Beats 1 earlier this afternoon, and Sara discussed the events that drove her to write the poppy first single off their upcoming record, Love You To Death.
“Boyfriend” is sort of the antithesis of songs like “Cool For The Summer” and “I Kissed A Girl,” both flippant descriptions of casual dalliances with women. In this song, Sara’s describing what it feels like to be on the other end — to date a girl who isn’t used to being with women, and who inadvertently treats her partner pretty badly — “You call me up like you would your best friend / You turn me on like you would your boyfriend / But I don’t wanna be your secret anymore.”
“It’s a pretty straightforward pop song about a relationship that I was getting into with a girl who had never dated a girl before,” Sara explains. “She had a guy that she was sort of seeing, and we used to joke around that she was treating me like her boyfriend, and I was trying to get her to tie it down. I wanted her to make it official with me. And I think that’s pretty relatable: obviously, being gay, the sort of gender twist in the song. I get that that sometimes doesn’t seem immediately relatable to everybody, whether they’re straight or whatever. But [it’s] this idea that we’ve all been in that situation where we really like someone and we want to make it official, and they’re not ready.”
Sonically, “Boyfriend” isn’t far removed from the likes of of “Closer,” an effortlessly catchy chorus gliding over slinky beats and ethereal synthesizers. Why am I telling you? You can listen to it right now!
Later, because they weren’t content to merely taunt us with one track from the new record, the sisters Quin slyly released “U Turn” on Spotify. “U Turn” is a bubbly, effervescent love song that’s prrretty much tailor made for feeling feelings on the dance floor. If these two tracks are any indication, Love You To Death might just be the pop album of the year.
