Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 14
  2. Negative: 0 out of 14
Buy Now
Buy on
  1. Sep 27, 2019
    83
    As an album, it’s effective and objectively good, but somewhat slight in comparison to their previous iterations. That being said, their sincere, youthful reverie combined with well-honed production and arrangement skills that could have only come with age makes for a truly sweet and satisfying addition to the Quin sisters’ catalog.
  2. Nov 14, 2019
    80
    Ultimately it's a melodically joyous album and a fascinating insight into the duo's initial attempts at songwriting as they collide with their future selves. As Tegan reflected in the album's press materials.
  3. Sep 30, 2019
    80
    Hey, I’m Just Like You is a record underpinned by raw emotion, melancholy, and a quiet but clear sense of hope, making for one of the group’s most vital efforts yet.
  4. Sep 30, 2019
    80
    The result is a clear-headed amalgamation of their two eras, veering from stomping emo (opener Hold My Breath Until I Die; I’ll Be Back Someday’s Avril-isms) to sleek, synth-led pop (the pogoing You Go Away and I Don’t Mind).
  5. Sep 30, 2019
    80
    The only thing that would have made it perfect would have been releasing the original demos alongside the redos so T&S devotees could do some compare-and-contrast work. That's an extra-credit quibble that can be easily dismissed, though, because in every other way Hey, I'm Just Like You is a vital addition to the Tegan and Sara catalog.
  6. 80
    Tegan and Sara’s last album, 2016’s Love You To Death, was a bold stadium-pop record; this one is less polished, but just as punchy. ... Most people read their teenage diary and cringe. With Hey I’m Just Like You, Tegan and Sara have painstakingly, tenderly, written theirs out again.
  7. 80
    This serves as an honest, vulnerable, and occasionally brutal reminder of what Tegan and Sara have always been best at.
  8. Sep 27, 2019
    71
    Memories of the very real pain and passion we felt as teenagers become cool enough to touch when we’re older. In Tegan and Sara’s hands, they become mantras, glimmering and hopeful and full of sparkle.
  9. Sep 30, 2019
    70
    Hey, I'm Just Like You is an emotive and catchy pop record, but for Tegan and Sara, it's more than that: it's a message to fans to let them know they are not alone in their struggles.
  10. Sep 30, 2019
    70
    Feels like something wholly outside of and unplaceable within the Tegan and Sara canon; while its not quite as fledgling as the songs may have been in their original nature, the album itself doesn’t feel as tight as their of-the-moment projects. But maybe that’s what makes this type of experiment — teenage musical revisitation — successful.
  11. Uncut
    Sep 25, 2019
    70
    The bleak piano ballad "Hello I'm Right Here," the suicidal "Hold My breath Until I Die" and the slow-burning synth-pop of "We Don't Have Fun When We're Together Anymore" all find curious joy in pain. [Nov 2019, p.33]
  12. Sep 25, 2019
    62
    At times, the manicured production seems to be actively undermining the emotional fuse of the new-old material. ... Present-day Tegan and Sara are very much grown up, gay and alive. The record, though, could have used more of that grainy adolescent roughness.
  13. Sep 27, 2019
    60
    Certainly, Hey, I’m Just Like You has a cracking backstory, but the album’s workaday synthpop means it struggles to make much of an impact based purely on its sonic appeal.
  14. Q Magazine
    Sep 25, 2019
    60
    It's an occasional return to their punk roots, more often smoothed over by the glistening pop production they've been known for more recently. [Nov 2019, p.116]
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 8 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 8
  2. Negative: 0 out of 8
  1. Sep 30, 2019
    8
    I was really hoping this album to be less “pop”, however they still did a stellar job with this album. A step up from “Boyfriend” and theI was really hoping this album to be less “pop”, however they still did a stellar job with this album. A step up from “Boyfriend” and the lyrics are probably at their darkest- which isn’t a bad thing at all. I do have some favorite tracks on this one that have made it on to my daily playlist. Full Review »