Canadian twin sisters Tegan and Sara Quinn, 35-year-old musicians and songwriters extraordinaire,  have already been making music and touring for more than two decades. The duo just released their eighth studio album, Love You to Death, and continue to push themselves creatively and professionally as they venture further into the world of pop music.

The shift from the acoustic guitar to pop beats is something that began with 2013’s Heartthrob, which debuted at number three on the Billboard Top 200 and won a slew of Juno Awards, and it continues with Love You to Death, something Tegan explains has been an exciting process. 

“It’s been awesome and almost exclusively positive. It was a bit of a curve when we put out Heartthrob, but I think we eased our fans in. They knew what to expect because we were playing the songs live before the record came out,” she says. 

“It’s been amazing to be so well received among our core fan base but to also see the pop community embrace us. We are thrilled and excited and proud that we could reach so many new people.”

She notes that the band’s transition to a fully realized pop sound was a lot easier for their audience than perhaps the press gave them credit for. Ultimately, it comes down to basic appreciation for the songs.

“What’s resonating with you are the lyrics and the emotion behind the song,” Tegan says. “Pop is just production.”

The songs Tegan speaks of remain emotionally raw and honest, getting to the heart of important issues. They’re simply packaged differently. 

“Just at a basic level it’s given us the opportunity to reinvigorate ourselves and our music, and it’s allowed us to reach a whole new audience,” she says.

She explains that moving into a pop realm means being able to present alternative ideas in a way that’s palatable for a mainstream audience.

After Heartthrob, the duo toured extensively and figured they would need a solid year off before going back into the studio. But instead, the call to create beckoned.

“We came off the road, and after a month I was ready. It’s a feel thing,” Tegan explains. 

“We felt like we wanted to get back into the studio and rip back another layer, to match emotion with pop production.” she says.

Relationships and what they do to you and for you are recurring themes on this record, and although we all have different experiences, the songs remain relatable. For instance, Tegan cites “100x,” which Sara wrote about her relationship with Tegan, as something that can be many things to many people.

The song was born out of personal experience, but she notes it also happens to sound like a breakup song. 

“The song is about Sara and I and our tumultuous first few years together, fighting for our independence. But I love that people hear it and relate to it in terms of a breakup. Our goal as artists is to write something that is universally understood.”

Tegan and Sara will play Toronto’s Massey Hall tonight.