Tegan & Sara were once heralded for their folky indie-rock sound. But as of late, the twin sisters have become an even bigger mainstream success, riding their self-made wave of 80′s inspired pop-rock-infused love songs. With their latest album Heartthrob taking on even happier synth sounds, unbridled love and sexual overtones, could they be the Vince Clarke and Andy Bell (Erasure) of 2013?

Building a base of real rock fans hit high gear when The Black Keys asked them to open a series of concert dates last October. “This is the thing, people that like licks, also like dance hits,” joked Tegan in an interview. But according to Sara, rock’s not the only genre they’d like to conquer. Although the duo recently collaborated with dance maven David Guetta, Sara said she’d even enjoy working with the masters of metal, Mastadon, proving the girls are truly up for anything.

Heartthrob marks the Canadian duo’s seventh studio album. “Heartthrob really fit for me because I loved the concept. I idolize the people that I date,” says Tegan to the Warner Sound. “I truly put them up on a pedestal and so it really resonated with me.” The happy pop sound may be misleading to many as Tegan explained to HuffPo, “this is probably our saddest, most heartbroken music ever. We just experimented with the pop music sound, but the songs are…devastating. It’s so sad…but whatever…”

Discussing the weathered look of the album art, Sara confesses, “I love the idea that we make these albums and that they feel so in the moment and modern and vibrant and relevant and then like in two years, you feel it sort of slip away.”

Heartthrob hits stores tomorrow, January 29th. Listen to the album in its entirety here.

– Jay Tilles, Radio.com