Date: March 2003 Author: Matt Thompson Publication: The Fly Headline: Tegan and Sara 'If It Was You' (Vapour [sic] Records)

When Ryan Adams first heard Tegan and Sara's 'If It Was You', he immediately rang the sibling duo's manager to arrange for them to join him on tour. A similar series of events led to prestigious support slots with the likes of Neil Young, the Pretenders, and young folk troubadour Rufus Wainwright. So it's hardly surprising that the record is an accomplished effort of acoustic-folk-punk, wired through a six-story amp and delivered with the vocal viciousness of a drunken catfight. Occupying a middle ground between pomposity and humility, the 22 year-old Canadian songwriting twins ooze a confidence that belies their subject matter of rejection, fixation and uncertainty. 'Monday Monday Monday' sums up this feasible muddle with the lines "I lie awake and miss you when you're gone" and the repeated chorus, "Damn your mood swings". It's certainly confused, but pretty good fun too. 3/5