A Song Born from Instrumental Echoes
In a recent column for teganandsara.substack.com, Tegan Quin details the creative genesis and evolution of the duo’s latest track, “Our Year.” The song, which features a collaboration with artist Lights, serves as a meditation on the difficulty of sustaining a creative life within the escalating costs of modern urban centers.
The track’s origins trace back several years to an instrumental piece provided by friends Luke Reynolds and John Congleton. Because the title “Our Year” was already attached to the demo, Quin chose to weave that specific phrase directly into the song’s melodies and lyrics. It is a recurring habit for the songwriter; she previously titled a track “The Cure” after receiving an instrumental from AFI’s Hunter Burgan that arrived with that name already in place.
Vancouver and the Cost of Ambition
At its inception, the song functioned as a tribute to Quin’s early years in Vancouver. Following her 2000 move to the city, she lived a life defined by late nights and minimal financial pressure—a reality that feels increasingly distant in the current economic climate. This shift has left Quin with a lingering sense of conflict. She admits to feeling a persistent guilt for remaining in Vancouver while watching fellow artists and friends depart, pushed out by the surging cost of living.
The Collaborative Shift with Lights
The song’s structure saw a major overhaul during sessions with producer Felix Cartal and musician Lights. The original draft included a section describing a “party’s raging,” which failed to resonate with Sara Quin. Once Lights joined the project, she introduced fresh concepts for the bridge that fundamentally altered the track’s tone.
Tegan describes the resulting bridge as a “call and answer.” This change shifted the narrative perspective, moving the song away from internal frustration and toward a broader observation of the collective struggle to build a career in an expensive urban environment.
Universal Themes in Personal History
While the lyrics are deeply rooted in personal history—including the tension surrounding Sara’s consideration of a move to Montreal in 2002—Quin is wary of over-explaining the work. She notes that her goal in providing these annotations is not to restrict the song’s meaning to her own biography.
Instead, she views the track’s central themes of persistent hope and conflicting desires as universal. Ultimately, she intends for the audience to interpret “Our Year” through the lens of their own lives.
Keep reading