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Mates of State
On Tour186,547 listeners (4,256,207 plays)
indie, indie pop, indie rock, female vocalists, rock
Lawrence, Kansas, United States (1997 – present)
Mates of State are an American indie rock duo, who have been active since 1997 when they formed in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. The group is composed of the husband-and-wife team Kori Gardner (vocals, Electone and Hammond B-3 electric organs, Casio synthesizer, and Rhodes electric piano, piano, and occasional guitar) and Jason Hammel (vocals, drum set, glockenspiel, other percussion, and occasional Casio synthesizer).
Their songs are notable for their male/female vocal harmony, shifting rhythms, and quirky song structure- most tracks are composed of multiple distinct, almost disjointed movements. Both members sing with great intensity, often in the upper ranges of their voices, and often sing different (yet complementary) melodies simultaneously. Tempos are nearly always fast, with beats often resembling those found in electronic club or dance music.
The main instruments used by the band are drums and electric organ. Although both members started out playing the guitar, they found they ended up fooling around with the organ and drums in their practice space more often than with more traditional instruments.
The band recorded one album on Omnibus Records before moving to Polyvinyl for their second and third full-lengths. They have also released five 7-inch singles and two EPs. In December 2005, the band signed with Barsuk Records and since have released an album entitled Bring It Back.
Their songs are notable for their male/female vocal harmony, shifting rhythms, and quirky song structure- most tracks are composed of multiple distinct, almost disjointed movements. Both members sing with great intensity, often in the upper ranges of their voices, and often sing different (yet complementary) melodies simultaneously. Tempos are nearly always fast, with beats often resembling those found in electronic club or dance music.
The main instruments used by the band are drums and electric organ. Although both members started out playing the guitar, they found they ended up fooling around with the organ and drums in their practice space more often than with more traditional instruments.
The band recorded one album on Omnibus Records before moving to Polyvinyl for their second and third full-lengths. They have also released five 7-inch singles and two EPs. In December 2005, the band signed with Barsuk Records and since have released an album entitled Bring It Back.
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See moreVideos
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Play
Mates of State - Blue and Gold Print
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Play
Mates of State "Jigsaw"
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Play
Mates of State - The Re-Arranger
Top Albums
Shoutbox
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squissymussy87 wrote:
i second "field_day" My only offer and now is my sing-a-long melodies. m8s os st8s produced good musicsss!!
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field_day wrote:
I love My Only Offer and Now, though there are a few poopers (Jigsaw comes to mind). My Solo Project is still probably my favorite, though Team Boo is pretty great too.
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Odessius wrote:
Join Sick Kids, Sick Taste!
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DotsDisconnect wrote:
the m8s o st8 are also festival whores, they are in every main festival i've seen! They're bad also.
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rigoisphat wrote:
m8s of st8 are r8 bad imo
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MattandDanShow wrote:
Just re-listened to their version of California...laaaavvvvllly http://www.myspace.com/themattanddanshow
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Guinessof77 wrote:
team boo is pretty great.
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HeartsThatHate wrote:
whats their best album? someone message me back
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xDDDDD wrote:
this is the dawning of the age of aquarius.
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yeahitsjosh wrote:
the thing about re-arrange us is that they are good songs, but coming from a band like mates of state, who is loved for their unexpected twists and turns in their songs, the songs feel even more conventional than they already appear as.
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milkcowmani wrote:
At first I didn't like Re-Arrange Us but it SERIOUSLY has grown on me. I LOVE IT now.
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quiet-tiz wrote:
Can't wait seeing them live in Benicàssim :)
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InASafePlace wrote:
Help Help by far
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oosmik wrote:
srsly.
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OMFGItsVico wrote:
Some people put WAY too much thought into music ... Shut up and relax!
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guitarsecretary wrote:
Criticism is okay but maybe only if its a little more eloquently put :p. I mean, obviously he/she was listening to the band when they made the criticism. I didn't particularly like Re-Arrange Us, which I heard the first track off and loved but then really hated the rest of it. Something irritates me about most of the tracks (especially Now, I have no idea why *that* is the hit track). I thought Pitchfork's comment that Mates of State had "basically made an album to cook dinner and do the dishes to" was kinda funny. It does have that overwhelmingly cutesy pie style to it. Not that I don't like cute... actually I don't know what this is.
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whichee wrote:
My only Offer by far
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oosmik wrote:
now now now now now!
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spagyricus wrote:
"sooooo old"? what the f*ck does that mean? *laugh* they're so cute i want to vomit, but i'd be singing along as i'm involuntarily regurgitating. they take the arbritrary genre "twee" and bend it into new and amazing shapes, and speaking for myself [as i'm reasonably entitled to do] i'm impressed.
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s0n-of-sam wrote:
they sound sooooo old!! kinda like it (L)!
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Events
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Jul
17
FIB Heineken
Benicassim, Castellón de la Plana, Spain
352 shouts
| 611 attendees - Jul 19 Download 2008: San Francisco Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, San Francisco, United States
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Jul
20
Download 2008: Los Angeles
Gibson Amphitheatre, Universal City, Los Angeles, United States
35 shouts
| 90 attendees
Recent Activity
- Stillihesitate tagged Mates of State with ‘check out’. yesterday afternoon
- Riotsqrrrl tagged Mates of State with ‘seen live’. yesterday morning
- Bleedflowers tagged Mates of State with ‘stuff i once thought i needed’. Friday morning
- Gonzaloz tagged Mates of State with ‘indie pop’. Tuesday morning
- Tarkatarka tagged Mates of State with ‘seen live’. Monday morning
- Naut22 added Mates of State to the lineup of Mates of State at The Tralf. Monday morning
- Naut22 added Mates of State to the lineup of Mates of State at Soundlab. Monday morning
- Naut22 linked Mates of State to Mates of State. Monday morning
- Andradiowires tagged Mates of State with ‘california’. 7 days ago
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More Information
- Links
- Band Members
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- Jason Hammel (1997 - present)
- Kori Gardner (1997 - present)
