I’ve been wanting to write to you guys since I first heard Crybaby but I couldn’t find the words to express how much I adore this album and what it means to me. This week has been a tough one personally for me, and this record has really put me in such a positive mental space for the first time in months so for that alone I can only thank you both. 🙏🏼
I think my favourite song other than the previously released songs has to be “This Ain’t Going Well”. It just gives me the feels, forces me to close my eyes when listening to it and it sends me to a place of pure cathartic nostalgia and relaxation. You have really knocked ball out the park with this record and I feel so proud of you both for all you achieved recently. I also feel very proud to be a part of this wonderful community.
Okay so, I have so many things to say and I don't know how to articulate them but I will try. Just be ready for a dump of thoughts: Crybaby is possibly my favourite Tegan and Sara album, a lot of fans have been saying this and it might not feel genuine as the album is so fresh in our ears but it's true. I don't know if it's because it's the first album release since I discovered you guys in the pandemic but it seems fitting since you wrote it during that time. You can also feel how collaborative it is, how much of a departure it is from your previous work but also from anything else out there, it's unique and I just know it will be the pioneer for a new sound in future music. And it's the collective of the songs for me, they are amazing on their own but when you group these songs together, they feel different like they belong to each other, not to mention the order they are placed. I told this to a lot of my friends: Crybaby is the reverse of a slow burn, you can't help but to feel hyped and move your body around when you start listening to it but by the end you're curled up on the floor crying, it kills you slowly in the best way. Also the whiplash from Faded Like a Feeling to I'm Okay? Still recovering from that lol thank you so much for bringing this amazing piece of work to light! My favourite is definitely This Ain't Going Well. Sorry for such a long comment, thanks for reading if you did. Congrats to everyone involved! Can't wait to see this live on tour!!!!! Bye
Oct 22, 2022·edited Oct 22, 2022Liked by Tegan and Sara
Holy fuck it is so emotional, I was not prepared. No wonder you put tissues in the boxset and called it Crybaby.
Jesus! 😭
From fist pumping bangers, to crying like a baby. 😊
Congratulations on a fucking brilliant and beautiful tenth album. You’re both incredible, happy release week!! 🍦❤️❤️🎉
PS And thank you for this post and for creating this amazing Substack and sharing, and getting to read and talk about all the amazing and heartbreaking things that have happened to you both. And for taking us on this journey since January with you. I have loved it, and I know I’m not the only one. ❤️
I got major surgery 2 days ago. This album and episodes 5 & 6 of High School have been really helping me to get distracted from the pain....well, that and pain pills😜
I love all that you guys are doing.
Under My Control and Yellow might be my favs of this album.
This album is so good, and is the best answer yet to the hellscape of the last few years (here in the States). I have been entranced by so many of these songs. Yellow, Smoking, Whatever That Was .. they are all so good. I am grateful Stars was not cut--even though it seems like a "before" song, it is so powerful and seems so necessary.
PST: You had me, completely, at the "Never been good enough" chorus. ...
So many technical questions about the production aspects of this album, but for now, it is enough to just say thank you. I keep finding myself describing the music as "brilliant" and I just think that is the best word right now for me to describe it.
Oct 22, 2022·edited Oct 23, 2022Liked by Tegan and Sara
Listening to Crybaby reminds me of how I felt when I first started listening to T&S. I love it - it’s a total standout that feels authentic and original. Yellow has got to be in the top 10 best songs you've ever recorded. The sound you went for on this album is inventive and really stirs up emotions (can’t stop listening to All I Wanted!) The sequencing is excellent. The lyrics for All I Wanted, Pretty Shitty Time, and Under My Control are some of my favorites. This Ain’t Going Well and Whatever That Was remind me a little of Tom Petty’s solo work (I love him.) And personally I would be really sad if Sometimes I See Stars had been cut from the album. Thank you for keeping it. Will you share some of your thoughts on the vocal work for this album? Are these songs challenging to sing compared to other records?
I absolutely love this entire album and am so happy to finally be able to listen front to back over and over. I’m Okay really grabbed me right away and is definitely one of my favorites. Smoking Weed Alone will be stuck in my head for a while. But the song that got my biggest reaction on first listen was Sometimes I See Stars. I was on the train on my way to work looking out the window and literally had tears in my eyes. That strong reaction kind of reminds me of the first time I listened to Zebra Sun. Maybe I’m crazy to compare those two songs but I feel like they have a similar fierceness and melancholy behind the lyrics. Can’t wait for all the ups and downs of seeing these songs live in one week!
Proudly wore my Crybaby T-shirt yesterday in honor of the release! The whole album is perfect from start to finish. Y’all never disappoint. If I had to choose a favorite from all these gems, “This Ain’t Going Well” would be the one, seeing as I find myself going back to that one the most....but honestly they are all perfection.
Can not wait to see them performed live in a couple weeks!!!! I’ll try not to be a big Crybaby during the show, so if I do, it at least will be on brand 🤣😭😝🥰❤️
Thank you for these thoughts and for this album that resonates with me and what I have been going through since the beginning of the pandemic. I can safely say that Crybaby is my new favorite Tegan and Sara album (sorry, If It Was You and The Con, you gotta step back now).
My two favorites are Under My Control and Whatever That Was. Two songs I deeply relate to, but I also just LOVE Smoking Weed Alone because I’m in a constant debate with myself. Also, I really have to mention that thank God Under My Control wasn’t cut off, because I haven’t personally related to a song like that since ever. It brings immense sadness and joy within my soul.
I would really love to know more about the lyrical meanings for All I Wanted and I Can’t Grow Up because they’re so striking...if it’s possible.
Love the new album! I haven't decided on a favourite yet - they are all different in their own way. Just enjoying listening to them as an album telling a story.
You ask whether we want anything or to make suggestions and I have a BIG ask! Have you, or could you publish a book of words and music for your songs? Maybe in aid of the T&S foundation?
As an amateur singer/guitarist (very amateur!) I would love to have words and chords in front of me to learn properly. Might that be possible? Maybe it already is, but I can't find anything.
Thank you for your music and enthusiasm. It is very much appreciated and has become a soundtrack to most of my adult life! Good luck for the tour - can't wait to see you in London!! Take care!
Oct 22, 2022·edited Oct 22, 2022Liked by Tegan and Sara
Sara, I'm so glad you guys didn't cut Sometimes I See Stars from the record, I connected with it instantly, just as I did with Shock To Your System. It already as an important place in my heart. Your more "existential" songs are my favorites. And it is the most cinematic on the records, I can just see it being used on a movie. We'll see if it is! If it was written so long ago, would you share with us how it sounded originally? And can you talk about the cover art and what inspired it?
If I had to describe Crybaby with one word it would be “fearless”. I turned off the lights, lay in bed, and proceeded to get lost in it. I had question marks coming out of my head and a big goofy smile the whole time. It’s weird, new, incredibly creative and free. It sounds like freedom. Whatever you had to do to birth it, ending your big label contract an album early, parting ways with past collaborators... it was worth it. If Heartthrob inspired the pop stars you sought to be peers with to try on a new sound, Crybaby should inspire hosts of young, queer, freaky kids to give it their all and just create, for the sake of innovation. It should be, and will be, a seminal album, if history does it justice.
The bridge in I Can’t Grow Up (boomerang, taking my head off...) is nothing sort of genius, classic Sara wordplay, it’s probably my favorite stretch to sing in the whole record. All I Wanted reminded me of Nothing Arrived by Villagers, and how incredibly dangerous it is to wish for nothing. Yellow, even though we’ve known for months, is an instant classic, it should go down in history as one of the Great Songs. Smoking Weed Alone is insane, what is going on there with the... synths? It’s crazy in the best way, and so infectious, people will love to sing along to it. I can just see and feel the excitement people are going to feel when hearing these songs live. Forget the fan favorites, I would love a concert of just Crybaby songs. The album start to finish and your cover of Today. I’m OK is a mindfuck. Pretty Shitty Time made me want to go and listen to U-Turn, and the last songs on the record reminded me what a creative, broad-reaching songwriter Tegan is. Sometimes I See Stars is another Sara masterpiece, something no one else could have written. And for all the production in it, it will sound amazing acoustic as well.
This album was a complete surprise, with SO many unexpected sounds at every turn, it felt like riding a rollercoaster. It felt brash, bold, like it was going through walls breaking a new way forth. And it sounds like something that came from Sara’s mind, not a producer’s toolbox. Well done, its’a a 10/10 for #10.
Pretty Shitty Time, I Can't Grow Up and Sometimes I See Stars are my favorites!
Amazing album..I listened to every song on the album and the song that impressed me the most was Whatever That Was..I don't have the ability to play an instrument and I don't know about sheet music, sometimes I write poetry(they are like bleach)..To me, this song is better than I was a fool..Like I said, I'm an ordinary person, maybe I'm exaggerating, but the only thing I don't exaggerate is that Whatever That Was song effected me..Love you two💝💝💝💝
I’ve been wanting to write to you guys since I first heard Crybaby but I couldn’t find the words to express how much I adore this album and what it means to me. This week has been a tough one personally for me, and this record has really put me in such a positive mental space for the first time in months so for that alone I can only thank you both. 🙏🏼
I think my favourite song other than the previously released songs has to be “This Ain’t Going Well”. It just gives me the feels, forces me to close my eyes when listening to it and it sends me to a place of pure cathartic nostalgia and relaxation. You have really knocked ball out the park with this record and I feel so proud of you both for all you achieved recently. I also feel very proud to be a part of this wonderful community.
Hey fellow Substackers! 👋🏼 Happy listening! ~ Ash 🥰🥰
Okay so, I have so many things to say and I don't know how to articulate them but I will try. Just be ready for a dump of thoughts: Crybaby is possibly my favourite Tegan and Sara album, a lot of fans have been saying this and it might not feel genuine as the album is so fresh in our ears but it's true. I don't know if it's because it's the first album release since I discovered you guys in the pandemic but it seems fitting since you wrote it during that time. You can also feel how collaborative it is, how much of a departure it is from your previous work but also from anything else out there, it's unique and I just know it will be the pioneer for a new sound in future music. And it's the collective of the songs for me, they are amazing on their own but when you group these songs together, they feel different like they belong to each other, not to mention the order they are placed. I told this to a lot of my friends: Crybaby is the reverse of a slow burn, you can't help but to feel hyped and move your body around when you start listening to it but by the end you're curled up on the floor crying, it kills you slowly in the best way. Also the whiplash from Faded Like a Feeling to I'm Okay? Still recovering from that lol thank you so much for bringing this amazing piece of work to light! My favourite is definitely This Ain't Going Well. Sorry for such a long comment, thanks for reading if you did. Congrats to everyone involved! Can't wait to see this live on tour!!!!! Bye
I think this is my favourite Tegan and Sara album...
Holy fuck it is so emotional, I was not prepared. No wonder you put tissues in the boxset and called it Crybaby.
Jesus! 😭
From fist pumping bangers, to crying like a baby. 😊
Congratulations on a fucking brilliant and beautiful tenth album. You’re both incredible, happy release week!! 🍦❤️❤️🎉
PS And thank you for this post and for creating this amazing Substack and sharing, and getting to read and talk about all the amazing and heartbreaking things that have happened to you both. And for taking us on this journey since January with you. I have loved it, and I know I’m not the only one. ❤️
I got major surgery 2 days ago. This album and episodes 5 & 6 of High School have been really helping me to get distracted from the pain....well, that and pain pills😜
I love all that you guys are doing.
Under My Control and Yellow might be my favs of this album.
Thanks ladies 🫶
I really cannot decide which song I like most. Such a good album, thank you so much for always creating something so unique 🖤
This album is so good, and is the best answer yet to the hellscape of the last few years (here in the States). I have been entranced by so many of these songs. Yellow, Smoking, Whatever That Was .. they are all so good. I am grateful Stars was not cut--even though it seems like a "before" song, it is so powerful and seems so necessary.
PST: You had me, completely, at the "Never been good enough" chorus. ...
So many technical questions about the production aspects of this album, but for now, it is enough to just say thank you. I keep finding myself describing the music as "brilliant" and I just think that is the best word right now for me to describe it.
I might have changed my mind on my favourite song. I’m Okay is a total banger! But so is Smoking Weed Alone…and I Can’t Grow Up. I CAN’T DECIDE
This crybaby era is going to be legendary 🔥
Listening to Crybaby reminds me of how I felt when I first started listening to T&S. I love it - it’s a total standout that feels authentic and original. Yellow has got to be in the top 10 best songs you've ever recorded. The sound you went for on this album is inventive and really stirs up emotions (can’t stop listening to All I Wanted!) The sequencing is excellent. The lyrics for All I Wanted, Pretty Shitty Time, and Under My Control are some of my favorites. This Ain’t Going Well and Whatever That Was remind me a little of Tom Petty’s solo work (I love him.) And personally I would be really sad if Sometimes I See Stars had been cut from the album. Thank you for keeping it. Will you share some of your thoughts on the vocal work for this album? Are these songs challenging to sing compared to other records?
I absolutely love this entire album and am so happy to finally be able to listen front to back over and over. I’m Okay really grabbed me right away and is definitely one of my favorites. Smoking Weed Alone will be stuck in my head for a while. But the song that got my biggest reaction on first listen was Sometimes I See Stars. I was on the train on my way to work looking out the window and literally had tears in my eyes. That strong reaction kind of reminds me of the first time I listened to Zebra Sun. Maybe I’m crazy to compare those two songs but I feel like they have a similar fierceness and melancholy behind the lyrics. Can’t wait for all the ups and downs of seeing these songs live in one week!
Proudly wore my Crybaby T-shirt yesterday in honor of the release! The whole album is perfect from start to finish. Y’all never disappoint. If I had to choose a favorite from all these gems, “This Ain’t Going Well” would be the one, seeing as I find myself going back to that one the most....but honestly they are all perfection.
Can not wait to see them performed live in a couple weeks!!!! I’ll try not to be a big Crybaby during the show, so if I do, it at least will be on brand 🤣😭😝🥰❤️
Thank you for these thoughts and for this album that resonates with me and what I have been going through since the beginning of the pandemic. I can safely say that Crybaby is my new favorite Tegan and Sara album (sorry, If It Was You and The Con, you gotta step back now).
My two favorites are Under My Control and Whatever That Was. Two songs I deeply relate to, but I also just LOVE Smoking Weed Alone because I’m in a constant debate with myself. Also, I really have to mention that thank God Under My Control wasn’t cut off, because I haven’t personally related to a song like that since ever. It brings immense sadness and joy within my soul.
I would really love to know more about the lyrical meanings for All I Wanted and I Can’t Grow Up because they’re so striking...if it’s possible.
Love the new album! I haven't decided on a favourite yet - they are all different in their own way. Just enjoying listening to them as an album telling a story.
You ask whether we want anything or to make suggestions and I have a BIG ask! Have you, or could you publish a book of words and music for your songs? Maybe in aid of the T&S foundation?
As an amateur singer/guitarist (very amateur!) I would love to have words and chords in front of me to learn properly. Might that be possible? Maybe it already is, but I can't find anything.
Thank you for your music and enthusiasm. It is very much appreciated and has become a soundtrack to most of my adult life! Good luck for the tour - can't wait to see you in London!! Take care!
Sara, I'm so glad you guys didn't cut Sometimes I See Stars from the record, I connected with it instantly, just as I did with Shock To Your System. It already as an important place in my heart. Your more "existential" songs are my favorites. And it is the most cinematic on the records, I can just see it being used on a movie. We'll see if it is! If it was written so long ago, would you share with us how it sounded originally? And can you talk about the cover art and what inspired it?
If I had to describe Crybaby with one word it would be “fearless”. I turned off the lights, lay in bed, and proceeded to get lost in it. I had question marks coming out of my head and a big goofy smile the whole time. It’s weird, new, incredibly creative and free. It sounds like freedom. Whatever you had to do to birth it, ending your big label contract an album early, parting ways with past collaborators... it was worth it. If Heartthrob inspired the pop stars you sought to be peers with to try on a new sound, Crybaby should inspire hosts of young, queer, freaky kids to give it their all and just create, for the sake of innovation. It should be, and will be, a seminal album, if history does it justice.
The bridge in I Can’t Grow Up (boomerang, taking my head off...) is nothing sort of genius, classic Sara wordplay, it’s probably my favorite stretch to sing in the whole record. All I Wanted reminded me of Nothing Arrived by Villagers, and how incredibly dangerous it is to wish for nothing. Yellow, even though we’ve known for months, is an instant classic, it should go down in history as one of the Great Songs. Smoking Weed Alone is insane, what is going on there with the... synths? It’s crazy in the best way, and so infectious, people will love to sing along to it. I can just see and feel the excitement people are going to feel when hearing these songs live. Forget the fan favorites, I would love a concert of just Crybaby songs. The album start to finish and your cover of Today. I’m OK is a mindfuck. Pretty Shitty Time made me want to go and listen to U-Turn, and the last songs on the record reminded me what a creative, broad-reaching songwriter Tegan is. Sometimes I See Stars is another Sara masterpiece, something no one else could have written. And for all the production in it, it will sound amazing acoustic as well.
This album was a complete surprise, with SO many unexpected sounds at every turn, it felt like riding a rollercoaster. It felt brash, bold, like it was going through walls breaking a new way forth. And it sounds like something that came from Sara’s mind, not a producer’s toolbox. Well done, its’a a 10/10 for #10.
Pretty Shitty Time, I Can't Grow Up and Sometimes I See Stars are my favorites!
Amazing album..I listened to every song on the album and the song that impressed me the most was Whatever That Was..I don't have the ability to play an instrument and I don't know about sheet music, sometimes I write poetry(they are like bleach)..To me, this song is better than I was a fool..Like I said, I'm an ordinary person, maybe I'm exaggerating, but the only thing I don't exaggerate is that Whatever That Was song effected me..Love you two💝💝💝💝