As a dandruff shampoo commercial taught us in our youth, first impressions are everything -- and the opening track to Tegan & Sara's upcoming album, due on Oct. 27, is quite the silver bullet, or is it more like a quivering arrow?

It's true that the Quin twins somewhat resemble the kind of pixies who would shoot a feathery, magic-dusted dart, but "Arrow" is no innocent, cute thing. On one side, it's dark and abrupt, pleading and anxious. On the other, there's a calm, cold certainty to a line like, "I take my aim, do you feel me coming close?"

In an interview with the sisters earlier this year at the Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, they explained the development of the band that has occurred over six albums, including their 2004 breakthrough, "So Jealous."

"We're a straightforward pop band," Tegan said. "but we have plenty of quirks. It's about making those quirks not distracting."

On "Sainthood," which takes its title from a Leonard Cohen song, "Came So Far For Beauty," the quirks make for good texture. "Sainthood" takes on the nature of devotion and self-presentation in relationships, and the gamut of feelings are a real cathartic pleasure to behold. On one extreme, you have "Hell," the first single that you can listen to on their website; on the other, you have "Sentimental Tune." Ah, sounds like love all right.

--Margaret Wappler

Photo: Gina Ferazzi

The dance floor is getting pretty crowded these days. Between the Black Eyed Peas' current foray into electro (breaking Billboard records in the process), rappers such as Pitbull sampling the Bucketheads’ house classic “The Bomb” for his smash “I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)” (which the Bucketheads nicked from Chicago’s 1979 single “Street Player”) and, of course, the pants-less patron saint of commercial dance beats Lady Gaga's seemingly unstoppable rampage, recording artists far and wide are counting on beats to generate heat this season. Even Christina Aguilera has been eager to let it slip that she’s working everyone from Ladytron to Santigold to M.I.A. on her upcoming album. In 2009, it’s safe to say that dance is the new black.

Still, a collaboration between superstar trance DJ Tiësto and Canadian alt-pop wonder twins Tegan and  Sara is sure to raise more than a few eyebrows on both sides of that unexpected musical fence.

Recorded for Tiësto’s forthcoming album, “Kaleidoscope,” the song “Feel It in My Bones” is a pleasantly inspired combination. Tiësto plays it cool, crafting a subtle but effective atmospheric dance track that highlights Tegan and Sara’s signature vocal melodies.

The sisters and their DJ accomplice have teamed up with music blog Stereogum to present an exclusive stream of the song, with T&S also sending in a quick video message discussing how the song came to be from “an undisclosed shower stall.”

Tiësto’s “Kaleidoscope” (which also features collaborations with Emily Haines, Jónsi of Sigur Rós and Kele Okereke of Bloc Party) is scheduled for release on Oct. 20.

-- Scott T. Sterling

Credit: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times