After a long four years away from the studio, the music world’s favorite set of twins Tegan and Sara Quin are back and stronger than ever with their seventh studio album “Heartthrob,” which was released on Jan. 29.

First making their mark in the indie music scene in the late 1990s, Tegan and Sara come from the humblest of beginnings- using their school’s recording equipment to record their early demos and eventually independently releasing their freshman album “Under Feet like Ours” in 1999. This was only the beginning of what would be a long and successful journey for the dynamic duo- they were soon signed by Vapor Records and with the company they have released their last five albums.

If there’s one word to describe the pair, it would be “consistent,” as they’ve stuck to their roots of indie and acoustic rock efficiently throughout their discography thus far. “Heartthrob,” however, focuses strongly on the other side of Tegan and Sara- the synthetic poppy side that we’ve seen only a little bit of from songs like “Back in Your Head” and “I Know I Know I Know.”

Leading the album is “Closer,” the duo’s first released single. The track combines the subtle seductiveness that Tegan’s voice belts, the fun 1980s-esque beat that the drums and synth offers, the delightfulness and softness of Sara’s harmonies and tops the song off with one catchy-as-hell chorus, definitely kicking the album off the right way.

The fun continues as the pop doesn’t stop- “Closer” is followed by hit after hit- from “I’m Not Your Hero” to “I Couldn’t Be Your Friend,” your head will not have bobbed so much before- at least not during a Tegan and Sara song.

Exploring themes such as love, heartbreak, friendship and faithfulness, Tegan and Sara explicitly let out the emotions that words cannot simply speak, which is what made them as successful as they are- they have shared writing duties since they became a duo and the two have established themselves as a dominant songwriting pair.

Although the lyrics featured in “Heartthrob” may appear shallow and vague compared to that of their early work, the album makes up for it with its catchiness and style. Because the approach into the genre of pop and synth, this is not only a new direction for them, but it enables them to appeal to a whole new group of potential fans. Sure, “Heartthrob” won’t strum at your heart strings and it won’t force tears out of your eyes, but it’ll give you severe head trauma from all the bobbing you’ll be doing.

You can order “Heartthrob” on iTunes or through their official website here: http://teganandsara.com.

Rating: 4/5