CD Review: Mates of State - Bring it Back

By: Michelle Padgett/Contributing Writer

Posted: 3/8/06

It is now March and across campus you can see the first small, green signs of another approaching spring. With graduation day looming in the not-so-distant future, it is a time to consider making major, even life-altering, decisions. One must face the ubiquitous dilemma that all graduating seniors struggle with: whether to settle down and get married or start a band, pack up the drum kit, and tour the country.
Meet Kori Gardner (keys, vocals) and Jason Hammel (drums, vocals), who decided to do a bit of both. In 2001, they quit their day jobs, got married, and started touring the country as Mates of State. The husband/wife duo, known for their catchy melodies and dueling vocals, will release their fourth full-length album, Bring it Back, March 21.
The album is, simply put, a lot of fun. With its boisterous and raucous keys, powerful drums, and catchy melodies, Bring it Back is irrepressibly optimistic pop. It features a more developed take on Mates of State's immediately recognizable sunshine-carnival sound. Vocals on the opener, "Think Long," are sexier than those on previous albums. "Fraud in the 80s" showcases an electric-synth sound that is new to Mates of State. Tracks like "So Many Ways" and "Punchlines" shine with their happily chaotic melodies and competing vocal harmonies. Despite the lack of other instruments, Mates of State maintains a full, energetic sound with a Yamaha organ and drum kit.
"Nature and the Wreck" is the album's most surprising track. Gardner's solo vocals stand out over softly rolling piano as she poignantly sings, "I know I haven't said enough / How I will protect and how each day matters… I know we haven't said enough / But I know I've never loved this much." It is an understated, touching moment on a mostly over-the-top album.
Bring it Back is charmingly joyous and positive. "We'll be so sorry," the duo chants on "Beautiful Dreamer," "if we get to the shadow of death and we missed all the sun on our faces… There was a time we lived in truth, let's bring it back." With their sunny-faced optimism, Mates of State faces the serious risk of being over-saccharinely sweet. But instead of going the way of the annoyingly-clad Polyphonic Spree, Mates of State make charismatic melodies that are also genuine and artistically complex.
Being a married duo in the music industry can also be a dangerous thing. Any one skeptical need but think of Sonny and Cher or Captain & Tennille to assent whole-heartedly. In this treacherous territory, Mates of State thrives. Bring it Back is appropriately going to be released on the first day of spring, and after a winter spent listening to a little too much Bright Eyes and Björk, it is a refreshing reminder that music doesn't always need to be so serious.
Mates of State will be playing in Dallas at the Gypsy Ballroom, Friday, March 10, with Denton locals Midlake and Sound Team.