Tegan and Sara

"Like O, Like h"

by M.J. Fine

(CLICK IMAGE FOR LARGER VERSION)

When you're in a band with your identical twin, people assume certain things about your relationship. But Tegan Quin isn't one of the two most important people in "Like O, Like h." In fact, on the version found on The Con, she's completely absent — situationally and musically — while her sister revisits some childhood trauma. "S.O.S. to my mother," Sara warns, "take the hinges off the door." Mom's trying to be sympathetic, but the kid's having trouble articulating her pain. At 8, stress manifests itself in achy hands and acoustic guitar; by 14, she's all fists and skittery drums. The keyboards swell, subside and shoot up again as Sara externalizes her agony, but she falls back on the same sharp phrase to describe the feeling: "Like O, like h, in your gut." Oh, oh, we all bear our pain alone. Even twins.

Don't fret — Tegan will sing angsty backing "oh"s when they play the Commerce Bank Arts Center in Sewell, N.J., on Friday.