‘Bring It Back’ dreams big and wins

Cue the clouds of dreamy fog and signal the harps to start playing – that’s right, this a flashback sequence. Think back to a time in your childhood when your life revolved around afternoon bike rides, Saturday morning cartoons and big dreams of what you could be when you finally grow up.

While often seen as just a phase of growing up to entertain such fantasies, these same dreams that every kid lives for during his or her youth, if maintained into adulthood can often lead to being perceived as naive or childish. Children at heart themselves, the duo Mates of State fight the good fight for dreamers everywhere and struggle to be taken seriously on its new album “Bring It Back.”

To get it out of the way, first off let’s address the very thing that has more often than not held back Mates of State from being given the respect it most certainly deserves. The duo is comprised of married couple Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel, and yes, that is just like so totally adorably cute that I struggle to breathe simply thinking about it.

This is the same superficial perception of the band that has followed it since day one. Although it has branded it as nothing less or more than pure innocent fun, it has allowed Mates of State to create some of the most infectiously catchy and elated indie-pop in existence today.

While the band could have slept soundly on this same formula for its fourth full-length, it instead bravely chose to cut a new path. This time around, Mates of State make it clear from the beginning that “Bring It Back” is a different kind of record. While not specifically overflowing with the same amount of elation or interlocking harmonies the duo is known for, this album is easily their most diverse to date.

Gardner experiments throughout the record with new and interesting sounds for her organ, thus leading to creating a totally personal texture for her playing. The effects employed by her conjure up sounds reminiscent of everything from ’60s guitar fuzz to that of a playful door chime.

Gardner’s playing goes on to sweetly compliment Hammel’s simple yet captivating drumming, which occasionally takes a backseat to everything else. This isn’t to say the drums involvement is any less important for Mates of State, it’s just that the duo often gets so lost in the spirit and love of its songs that eventually the music takes on a life of its own and enters almost a dream like state.

This at once is both the album’s most impressive strength and its rare weakness. While the ability to create such an enchanting aura is absolutely mesmerizing, “Bring It Back” often becomes so lost within its own concepts and adventure that the feeling that Mates of State is still a duo is forgotten. While the band becomes entranced in its own music, full of passion and love for every single key stroked or drum pounded, the vocals and presence of Gardner are pushed to forefront as Hammel is left as somewhat of background instrumentation.

While Gardner’s vocals beautifully caress every song with sweet charm and spotlight her ability to bring new depth to the band’s songs (especially apparent on “Nature And The Wreck”), the magic of the Hammel’s vocals playfully harmonizing hers is somewhat diminished. This is not to suggest that the album would be better made with every song following some formula of trading off every verse, or harmonizing every word to every song. It’s just that with less “vocal equality” spanning the depths of the record, I can’t help but feel there is something slightly missing from the final product.

Outside of these minor complaints, though, “Bring It Back” is a nearly flawless achievement for Mates of State. The record works on a variety of levels and acts as almost a cleansing process for the duo: a chance to strip itself of the “just another cute band” label that’s been seared into its image for the majority of its career. After the last harmony rings out on the thoughtful album closer “Running Out,” it’s clear that no one will be bringing back any disrespect for this innovative and adventurous record.

Mates of State will be performing tonight at the Gypsy Tea Room.

Cole Hill is a first-year CCPA major and can be reached at [email protected].