*** Tegan and Sara

THIS BUSINESS OF ART

(Vapor)

Identical twins from Canada who impressed someone in Neil Young's camp enough to score a deal with his Vapor label, Tegan and Sara harmonize about girl power, boyfriends, and the choices in between on their funky folk debut. Although clearly the musical offspring of Lilith, inspired by if not quite as politicized as Ani Difranco and Indigo Girls, they stop short of toeing Lilith's floral folkie line, opting instead to borrow some hip-pop groove from the Luscious Jackson songbook.

The production -- spare and at times almost lo-fi -- emphasizes the twins' complementary voices, one low and raspy, the other sweeter and higher, as well as their rough-and-tumble guitar strumming. Drums, bass, and a modest array of loops and samples flesh things out without detracting from the buskerish voice-and-guitar feel. A harmonica adds earthy charm to "Freedom"; a piano brings some texture to the laid-back anthem "My Number." But it's the natural interplay between the sisterly voices that's the main attraction here.

-- Linda Laban

(Tegan and Sara open for Neil Young and the Pretenders this Saturday, August 12, at the Tweeter Center. Call 228-6000.)