Greats

Much like London buses Mates of State take their time, but when they rock up they rock up en masse: nine years since they last played live in the UK and four years since their last album the gently revered and longtime married Conneticut-based exuberant indie-synth-pop duo of Kori Gardner (vocals, organ, piano and occasional guitar) and Jason Hammel (vocals, drums, percussion and occasional synthesiser) have announced a flurry of European activity including the release of a brand new EP, the reissue of three previous albums and the launch of a new compilation. That Mates Of State compilation is called 'Greats', but rather than spanning their lengthy career it very much focuses on the past decade by bringing together various vivacious highlights of those three reissues, those albums being 'Mountaintops' (originally released in 2011), 'Re-Arrange Us' (2008) and 'Bring It Back' (2006). And a super shiny sweethearted collage those various vivacious highlights make, too, as the likes of 'Palamino', 'Get Better', 'Mistakes' and 'For The Actor' capture the twosome's bouyant synthpop sensibilities and gently melancholic melodic instincts.