POPSCREEN: Tegan and Sara

Google “emotional turmoil,” “skinny jeans,” or “near-death in a bathtub,” and you’ll probably come across a YouTube link for Tegan and Sara’s video for “The Con.”

The meek opening chords, when coupled with successive shots of a nervously-jiggling, Converse-clad foot, followed by Tegan draped melancholically on a therapist’s couch, set the angst factor rather high. The ashy tones and urban feel just ooze somberness. The girls betray just enough tongue-in-cheek sensibility, however, that we’re willing to stomach some lonesome bed-writhing.

The story is simple and possibly symbolic (more on that later). Sara goes on a rescue mission after she spies a mysterious black object in a shadowy apartment hallway.

Meanwhile, Tegan’s therapy session goes very strangely indeed, as her bored therapist dons a ski mask for one brief shot and eventually keels over on to the floor. As Sara joins Tegan from the fire escape and the two dash out of the room, the fast-paced editing nicely suggests the twins’ solidarity. The camera cuts back and forth from so many angles that it becomes difficult to tell who’s who. They’re definitely two separate characters again at the end, though; Sara looks less than pleased at her sister for putting her through the whole ordeal.

The catchy tune, innovative lyrical phrasing, and interesting harmonies make the video worth watching. Eventually, you end up wondering just what Tegan and Sara need rescuing from. Modern psychiatry? Bathtubs? Mainstream moodiness in general? It’s unclear, really, but it’s certainly not themselves.

—Amanda C. Lynch