Heartthrob

Tegan and Sara - Heartthrob
Critic Score
Based on 30 reviews
2013 Ratings: #192 / 1115
User Score
Based on 192 ratings
2013 Rank: #354
Liked by 17 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

90
Drowned in Sound

They may have churned their sound into something new, but their heart and their character is still very much in the right place, and that’s what makes Heartthrob more than just a brilliant pop album

90
PopMatters

The girls can be proud that their efforts have produced the best record of their career, and quite possibly, one of the best records of the year.

83
Paste

What a concept, expanding their musical universality and emotional relatability at the same time.

83
A.V. Club

At times, Heartthrob can feel a bit too polished because of such manicured instrumentation. But overall, Tegan And Sara make the album work, mainly because their songwriting is more sophisticated. 

80
Under the Radar

This is Tegan and Sara in arena-ready mode; the mix goes wall-to-wall in each and every track, filling all corners of the soundscape with digital pulses and vocal effects. Heartthrob is easily the duo's biggest-sounding album.

80
Consequence of Sound

Heartthrob’s connection to music of the early ’80s isn’t trite – it’s a treat.

80
SPIN

Bright, busy, and unapologetically direct, Heartthrob nonetheless makes everything Tegan and Sara did before seem perversely obscure.

80
NME

Out goes the usual folk-meets-new wave stuff, in comes Lily Allen’s producer Greg Kurstin and big, spangly electro hits. The results could have been messy, but ‘Heartthrob’ is a triumph.

80
AllMusic

Heartthrob is the sound of Tegan and Sara taking on modern pop music head-on and winning in triumphant style.

73
Pitchfork

On Heartthrob, Tegan and Sara sing about solitude, regret, and self-loathing alongside romance, but most of its 10 songs feel amazing. 

60
No Ripcord

This was an interesting direction to go in and it definitely has a lot of potential. But the duo will need to do a better job balancing the synths and the songs to succeed.

60
musicOMH

Heartthrob falls down more often than not because the songs capture the immaturity of its target audience a little too well.

vivi
89

Kind of just randomly decided to actually listen to Tegan and Sara and I wanted to start with this album (totally NOT because of this at all https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlunIWcnpSQ)

From the second this started this was so much fun, I've been seeking out a lot of high energy, fast paced albums, and I've been loving electropop and upbeat stuff just like this. I love the production here, it has that super fun 2010s electropop sound to it that I really, really like, and this album has that ... read more

VPotrich
75

Acho que o maior mérito de Heartthrob é ser completamente viciante, graças aos vocais chicletes e interessantes de Tegan and Sara. O álbum é curto e, mesmo com momentos descartáveis, a maioria do trabalho é formado por canções que nos fazem ouvi-las repetidas vezes. Isto porque, apesar de não haver nada de revolucionário, as músicas cumprem com o que prometem: uma narrativa synthpop romântica de ... read more

lemuriams
85

VERY CATCHY ALBUM! Every song is like a hit.

ilikejackwhite
85

Goodbye Goodbye

MistBlue08
87

The only reason I wanted to listen to this album was The Lego Movie. No joke, The Lego Movie is why I decided to check this out. And while it may seem like a selling-out album in the same league as It Was Written, Travelling Without Moving, Wu-Tang Forever, and DAMN, it was actually not bad. Tracks 1 through 6 are 100% bangers (remind me to add this to "Certified Jeep Classics"), and were among the only songs I listened to during the worst times of my life (which involve accidentally ... read more

vivi
89

Kind of just randomly decided to actually listen to Tegan and Sara and I wanted to start with this album (totally NOT because of this at all https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlunIWcnpSQ)

From the second this started this was so much fun, I've been seeking out a lot of high energy, fast paced albums, and I've been loving electropop and upbeat stuff just like this. I love the production here, it has that super fun 2010s electropop sound to it that I really, really like, and this album has that ... read more

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Added on: January 4, 2013