Mates of State - Bring it Back

Genre rock Publisher Barsuk Records External Links Official Website Barsuk Records

Alright people, spare me the lame Captain and Tennille analogies. Mates of State are nothing like The Captain and Tennille, other than the fact that they are married. Plus, the San Francisco husband and wife duo Mates of State are much cooler than those two could have ever dreamt to be and for the past six years have been making much more significant music.

Their latest album is called Bring it Back and it is filled with just as much vocal harmony and meticulous melody as all three of MOS's previous albums. The only difference is that the album sounds more crisp and mature than their other efforts, which often featured songs with manic organs, and drums clashing together. Those albums sounded as if the duo might still be feeling each other out. Luckily, being that they are married, that doesn't seem to have been a problem. On Back organist Kori Gardner and drummer Jason Hammel bring us bigger anthems and catchier pop than ever before. This is most apparent on "So Many Ways," where the two singers' voices dance and harmonize like they are doing the fandango in the air.

MOS also gain points on Bring it Back for the fact that you can actually listen to this one when you are sad and just let it pick you right up! It's what you always felt like they should be doing, but for some reason you just didn't want to hear their happy crap when skies were gloomy. Bring It Back however, has found the perfect way of grabbing hold of you when you feel down, and by the time the album ends, you are yelling along with the contagious choruses and trying to keep up with the complex vocal arrangements. Boys sing along with Jason and girls with Kori; unless you are a boy with a very high voice or a gal with a very manly voice.

Anyways, back to my point, Bring it Back is definitely the band's best album and proof that they are here to stay. I recommend that everyone surrender and start listening to Mates of State very soon, or the world is most certainly going to destroy itself. Trust me friends, they are here to share the love.