Online Extra: Mates of State

Mates of State, a musical duo made up of Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel, not only sing about… Mates of State, a musical duo made up of Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel, not only sing about love but act as physical representations of the phenomenon.

Gardner and Hammel have been together longer than the band has even existed, back before their first album’s release in 2000. As Mates of State changed record labels and gained more of a following, its sole two members married and had two children together.

Evidence of the ups and down of family life, and especially marriage, is packed into nearly every song of their latest album, Re-arrange Us.

Don’t think their new mommy and daddy roles have softened their styles, though. Re-arrange Us offers the banging organ notes and high-pitched vocals that fans expect from the pair.

Gardner and Hammel have some of the happiest voices in music, and Gardner’s characteristically repetitious “hoos” and “hahs” are still commonplace throughout the album, used in appropriately cheery songs like “Jigsaw” and “The Re-arranger.”

What makes Mates of State different from other bands with paired male and female vocalists is not its superior skill. Instead it is the simplicity with which they execute their music. In songs like “My Only Offer,” softly rolling piano chords and quaint bells are some of the most prevalent instrumental additions. When combined with the giddy intensity of Gardner and Hammel’s voices, these modest sounds become the background to a romantic anthem.

The listener realizes what a great pair the two are (at least musically) in “The Re-arranger,” when one doesn’t sing with the other but instead sings to the other. Gardner sings “My friends they all agree / Give in to our defeat,” and Hammel repeats, making the lyrics sound more like a lullaby they sing to each other in hard times than a song for the rest of us to enjoy.

This sort of sing-song style is what has made Mates of State a memorable name among indie artists over the years, but has this growing popularity affected their music?

Earlier albums like 2003’s Team Boo and 2002’s Our Constant Concern are shining examples of what two talented people can create with little funding, few instruments and harmonized chanting. Re-arrange Us, on the other hand, lacks that innocence that made these older albums so enjoyable and unique.

There are the few aforementioned gems that reflect this familiar simplicity, but as a whole, the album is noticeably more produced. One can hear not only the married duo, but also the complex layers created by professional recording and the many extra instruments enforced by a studio band.

This added proficiency does not ruin the album – technically, it symbolizes how far the band has come. The changes, though, are still disappointing. The first track on the record, “Get Better,” begins with the soft tapping of piano keys but eventually fades into a blend of string instruments and melodic vocals. It acts as a preview of the different direction that the band has taken with the new album.

The old Mates of State – consisting solely of Gardner on the organ, Hammel on the drums and dueling voices – is not gone, but it has certainly evolved. The band’s change in record labels could be to blame – they made the switch from Polyvinyl to Barsuk in 2006. It could also be proof that the band is primarily made up of two adults that have changed and grown from the realities of supporting a four-person family.

Most importantly, Mates of State is still around and rocking out with poppy, sing-along songs. They have found a way to unite a musical base with a new, matured lifestyle. The couple plan on bringing their two children on tour with them this summer, revealing that change isn’t always a bad thing.