Prolific musicians, Tegan and Sara Quin have just released their much awaited sixth album, Sainthood.

They’ve been around a long time: most lesbians know them and their music but they are not just makers of power-pop chick music.

Their originality and longevity in the industry has seen their fanbase diversify and expand, especially with their last album, The Con — even to straight men.

Like a lot of non-mainstream pop music that I come to really love with more plays, Tegan and Sara’s music always takes a while to really get in to. The exception on Sainthood is ‘Hell’, the first single (which has probably aired on Triple J by now), which got into my head after the first verse and I found myself singing away before the song was over and before I was even sure I liked it. So when I listened to the full album, I was surprised to find unusual and risky choices for tracks one and two.

‘Arrow’ by Sara and ‘Don’t Rush’ by Tegan as introductions, make it difficult to love this album immediately.  After a few times I realised these songs are brilliant. The obvious hits and replay songs rest in the middle: ‘Hell’, ‘On Directing’, ‘Red Belt’ and ‘The Cure’. Actually, the whole album is a little unusual but I like that ‘Alligator’ isn’t just an odd title. Sainthood also features their first co-written song, ‘Paperback Head’.

In case you didn’t know, Tegan and Sara are twins — lesbian twins — from Canada. These are the basic facts by which the media often defines them. They have inspired a new style for young lesbians (see 20-ish copycat examples on Oxford Street, Sydney). In their spare time they protest Prop 8, video hilarious blogs for their devoted fans and publicise emerging musicians as veterans of the indie music scene alongside other Canadian greats like Metric and Stars.

They say they always write about love but I think there’s more going on in this effort to accompany their experimental, electronic, post-punk and pop mix-up compositions. They’ve grown up and their lyrics are well-crafted, while still holding onto their strengths by conversing about how they feel immature and vulnerable when it comes to love — so relatable, so human. Even though music magazines and websites like Under the Radar, www.spinner.com and www.stereogum.com will be making a fuss about their latest release, I don’t think Sainthood will get more than a glimpse from the mainstream and the likes of Rolling Stone. It will continue to confuse me how the masses overlook such catchy and honest tunes.