The biggest surprise of my Tuesday night was showing up to recordBar to watch Mates Of State and being greeted by a “Sold Out” sign. On the other hand it was no surprise that Mates Of State killed it. A group of hopeful fans were being turned away as I made my way into the dark bar. They most likely thought the same thing I did, “It’s just our old, local band, Mates Of State. There is no way it will sell out.” Well, we were both wrong.
I wandered into the overly stuffed recordBar right at the beginning of a set fromGenerationals. This dancey pop group hailing from New Orleans brought a bright, happy atmosphere to the eager crowd. It was made apparent that the enthusiasm for the set was shared by the band itself when the frontman commented that he was “impressed by the crowd” and expressed his relief that it wasn’t a repeat of “two years ago at Riot Room.” Generationals’ set was brief and pleasant. It was music you would listen to if you had a happy childhood (or just a bad memory of your unhappy one.) Cute, retro, keyboard driven pop with plenty of “Ooos” and “Aaahs” to go around.
After a quick stage dressing it was time for Mates Of State. They had adorned the stage with elaborate, homemade decorations. A wall of flowers hung behind them, fall leaves were draped all over the keyboards and drums, even the ceiling was decorated with two puffy clouds. As the band took the stage I overheard a group of girls behind me begin to get rather excited about the prospect of dancing. Apparently this is what most of the crowd had been planning for, because the moment the music started the bar erupted into a dance off. Accompanied, most fittingly, by a girly singalong. This is what Mates Of State are made for.
I noticed a bit of a change in the lineup since the last time I had seen the band play (Bleeding Kansas 2006, I believe.) To the classic piano and drum duo they had added an electric guitar player and another keyboardist who occasionally chimed in with athematic trumpet parts.
The first thing that shines through when you listen to Mates Of State are their driving, catchy choruses. The melodies, though simple and poppy, will stick with you for days. This band is also very well seasoned. For over a decade they have been playing crowded venues and have the experience of shows. Mates really know how to entertain a crowd and keep the show flowing. Just a few songs into the set they played the fan favorite “Shake It Off” then jumped straight into a new song. The new track was even more dancey and upbeat than the rest of the set, showing that with age the couple hasn’t soured at all.
On this night Mates Of State seemed larger than life, with a giant tour bus and a sold out show. At one point I had forgotten that they were the same band that I had known and listened to for so many years. I had to be reminded of their Lawrence heritage when, mid-set, they yelled out to their fans, “It is great to be back in town.”
I left recordBar encouraged by the show. Though the crowd consisted of mostly fans in their mid 30’s (possibly old faithfuls from back in the Lawrence days.) There were small pockets of younger fans who will hopefully carry on the success of the band. I am assured that as long as Mates Of State continue to play they will have an eager audience to play to.
Connecticut-based modern pop duo Mates of State have finished recording their newest album, Mountaintops, to be released September 13 via Barsuk Records. Mountaintops is the band’s first since 2008′s acclaimed Re-Arrange Us. The new album was self-produced, written and recorded over the last year and a half in 6 different studios with multiple engineers, and tied together by mixer Chris Coady (Beach House, Gang Gang Dance, Smith Westerns). For track listing, see below.
1. Palomino
2. Maracas
3. Sway
4. Unless I’m Led
5. Total Serendipity
6. Basement Money
7. At Least I Have You
8. Desire
9. Change
10. Mistakes
Love Notes/Letter Bombs byThe Submarines is indiepop filtered through poppunk filtered through the Los Angeles sun. One immediately gets a sense of fun buried in smog. The bass hits hard, and the keyboards are thrilling. I’m reminded of Mates of State, Viva Voice, and other bands anchored by husband/wifeduos.
The first two tracks are mid-tempo numbers focusing on the subjects of love and loss. Its weird mix of ’80′s new wave somehow made new. It’s all very interesting. Track three, “Ivaloo” is where things get things interesting. The song begins with a ukulele and handclaps before the female vocals come out. Shortly, after that the male vocals respond. It’s kind of an argument in song, which is fun.
After that we have another highlight, “The Sun Shines At Night”. This is happy, sugary stuff but it’s pretty infectious. “We’re in love and it feels alright” goes the chorus, and you can’t help but get swept along. I’d usually hate this kind of thing, but it’s so goddamn joyous I can’t help myself.
The album ends with “Anymore”, which might be the best thing here. The song clicks and bleeps as Blake Hazard sings about love and jealousy. The album is best when she takes the lead, as this song proves.
Despite the fact that The Submarines sound like a lot of other bands, they have an originality that I respect. When I first this record on, I thought it was more of the same but it grew on me pretty fast. There is something exciting about this band that I can’t quite put my finger on. If you’re a fan of indie pop, you’ll dig this.
Track listing:
1. Shoelaces
2. Fire
3. Ivaloo
4. The Sun Shines At Night
5. Birds
6. Tigers
7. Where You Are
8. Plans
9. A Satellite, Stars and An Ocean Behind You
10. Anymore
You’ve already heard us raving about the newMates of Statecoversalbum and despite our slight bitterness that the duo is skipping their former-home of Lawrence on their tour, we couldn’t help but share some more news from their camp.
Crushes (The Covers Mixtape) is now available for just $5 and from what we heard off the album, it’s a steal. The album releases on June 15.
You can buy the pre-order the album at matesofstate.com and you can download a cover of Girls‘ “Laura free.
The band also just released a new music video. Watch a new video for their cover of Nick Cave‘s “Love Letter” below. Daniel Garcia directs.
Mates of StateSummer CrushesTour Dates:
* w/ Free Energy
# w/ Todd Barry
^ w/ Nick Thune
% w/ Suckers
=====================================
6/15 Northampton, MA @ Iron Horse * #
6/16 Rochester, NY @ Water Street* #
6/17 Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church % #
6/18 Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Small’s Funhouse * #
6/19 Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop * #
6/21 Cincinnati, OH @ 20th Century * #
6/22 Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall * #
6/23 Minneapolis, MN @ 400 Bar *
6/24 Minneapolis, MN @ 400 Bar *
6/25 Omaha, NE @ Slowdown *
6/26 Denver, CO @ Bluebird *
6/28 Salt Lake City, UT @ In the Venue *
6/30 San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall * ^
7/1 San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall * ^
7/2 Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo * ^
7/3 Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo * ^
7/4 Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress *
7/6 Lubbock, TX @ Jake’s *
7/7 Dallas, TX @ Granada Theatre *
7/8 Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live *
7/9 Baton Rouge @ Spanish Moon *
7/10 Birmingham @ Workplay *
7/12 Athens, GA @ 40 Watt * ^
7/13 Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel * ^
7/14 Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar * ^
7/15 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall ^
7/16 New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom ^
The Summer Crushes tour coincides with the release of self-recorded Crushes (The Covers Mixtape), an album consisting of covers of songs by some of the Mates’ personal favorites.
6/15 Northampton, MA @ Iron Horse * #
6/16 Rochester, NY @ Water Street * #
6/17 Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church % #
6/18 Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Small’s * #
6/19 Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop * #
6/21 Cincinnati, OH @ 20th Century * #
6/22 Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall * #
6/23 Minneapolis, MN @ 400 Bar *
6/24 Minneapolis, MN @ 400 Bar *
6/25 Omaha, NE @ Slowdown *
6/26 Denver, CO @ Bluebird *
6/28 Salt Lake City, UT @ In the Venue *
6/30 San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall * ^
7/1 San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall * ^
7/2 Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo * ^
7/3 Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo * ^
7/4 Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress *
7/6 Lubbock, TX @ Jake’s *
7/7 Dallas, TX @ Granada Theatre *
7/8 Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live *
7/9 Baton Rouge @ Spanish Moon *
7/10 Birmingham @ Workplay *
7/12 Athens, GA @ 40 Watt * ^
7/13 Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel * ^
7/14 Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar * ^
7/15 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall ^
7/16 New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom ^
* w/ Free Energy
# w/ Todd Barry
^ w/ Nick Thune
% w/ Suckers
This past April, Mates of State released Re-Arranged: Remixes Volume 1 on limited-edition 12″ vinyl. Featuring four interpretations of tracks from Mates of State’s latest full-length, Re-arrange Us, it included contributions from noted remixologists DJ Sega, Flosstradamus, The Mae Shiand RAC. Packaged in a classic DJ white sleeve, the 12″ EP was limited to 1000 copies worldwide.
But, for folks who prefer the digital to the analog, we’re excited to announce that Mates of State’s Re-Arranged: Remixes Vol. 1 is now available digitally at fine digital retailers everywhere. This digital version features a bonus track remixed by Amp Live and not available on the 12″ physical edition.
Check out the Mae Shi Remix of “You Are Free” here:
Tracklisting:
01. You Are Free (The Mae Shi remix)
02. The Re-Arranger (Flosstradamus remix)
03. Now (RAC remix)
04. Help Help (DJ Sega Philly Club remix)
05. The Re-Arranger (Amp Live remix)
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The biggest surprise of my Tuesday night was showing up to recordBar to watch Mates Of State and being greeted by a “Sold Out” sign. On the other hand it was no surprise that Mates Of State killed it. A group of hopeful fans were being turned away as I made my way into the dark bar. They most likely thought the same thing I did, “It’s just our old, local band, Mates Of State. There is no way it will sell out.” Well, we were both wrong.
