• Record Label: Sire
  • Release Date: Oct 27, 2009
Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 17 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 17
  2. Negative: 0 out of 17
  1. It's the contrast between their writing styles and voices, slight as they may be, that works to make Sainthood another rich and rewarding album.
  2. Alternative Press
    90
    Sainthood was produced by Death Cab For Cutie's Chris Walla and Howard Reddekopp, allowing the album to take on aspects of both its predecessors while still feeling new, and per usual with this duo, impressively skillful. [Dec 2009, p.114]
  3. This is a set of power pop with hooky choruses and chiming harmonies to go along with splashes of synths mixed in for throwback '80s flavor (especially 'Red Belt'). It makes for a 40-minute blast of smart songcraft.
  4. Whether If It Was You or So Jealous serve as your touchstone for what this group should be, Sainthood is unlikely to leave you one hundred per cent satisfied. Which is good--in their own way Tegan and Sara are mavericks; that’s what always saves them in the end.
  5. Entertainment Weekly
    83
    Tegan and Sara imagine love as a form of religion, complete with its own saints, sinners, and special netherworld VIP lounge reserved just for exes. It's a weighty idea, but any self-seriousness is saved by songs like the pulsing-synth herky-jerk 'Arrow.' [30 Oct 2009, p.57]
  6. Canadian sisters examine love's deceitful ways.
  7. This is the most radio-friendly they’ve ever sounded, and as a result there’s less of that sense of fragile intimacy. That’s not necessarily such a bad thing, especially when it’s replaced by an addictive burning urgency, as it is here.
  8. The arrangements are consistently dynamic and clear, but Tegan & Sara’s wordy vocals steal the show.
  9. The album's infectious, but with enough edge to temper its undeniable desire to connect.
  10. Overall, Sainthood is heavier than previous efforts, both lyrically and musically, and old fans will probably appreciate what this pair has accomplished together. However, for a new listener, the album might come off as a somewhat hard swallow; the songs are often too produced, and may even lack some honest musicality at their core.
  11. Here, the girls just wanna have fun: With squawking synths, clipped vocals and head-snapping New Wave drums, their latest is an Eighties dance party.
  12. The irreverent, snide wit and easy self-deprecation prove to be an effective, if surprising, fit for Tegan and Sara's brand of genial indie-pop, elevating Sainthood beyond mere snappy diversion.
  13. 80
    Tegan and Sara's music may no longer be the stuff of teens, but its strength remains in how much it feels like two people talking.
  14. It’s another inside-out move for Tegan & Sara; they’ve pulled apart self-doubt and found the self-regard that lines it.
  15. Their sixth record reminds me quite a bit of that Metric album that came out last spring. You could put this reaction down to Sainthood’s understated, idiosyncratic electronic elements, or to the whole Canadian elevated-indie-pop thing.
  16. Uncut
    60
    Sometimes it's grating - "The Ocean" could be a Belinda Carlisle album track - but the supremely catchy likes of first single "Hell" deserves daytime radio ubiquity. [Jan 2010, p. 131]
  17. Under The Radar
    80
    Not many bands can maintain their core sound while changing enough to stay new, but Tegan and Sara have done just that. [Holiday 2009, p.79]
User Score
8.7

Universal acclaim- based on 57 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 53 out of 57
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 57
  3. Negative: 4 out of 57
  1. KatieP.
    Oct 27, 2009
    10
    Great music by a great band.
  2. JoshL.
    Oct 27, 2009
    10
    Love this album. So catchy.