Married-couple-pop-duet Mates of State return for their seventh full-length studio album Mountaintops. Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel, Bay Area natives, attempt to remake their sound on the LP, while sticking true to their electronic beats and keeping their uptempo lyrics in the process.
How is Mountaintops different from the previous Mates of State albums? In a simple answer, it isn’t really. But what the listener will find is a more refined sound, experimenting with more than just keyboard and drums, but keeping intact the core electro-pop texture that made the group popular to begin with. The group also varies with differing count times and synth pop variations with an energy that rivals Jolt Cola.
The soundtrack opens with fireworks under “Palomino,” a song that should end up being their second single. Moving further along, the band’s first single “Maracas” invites the listener into a 80s dance party, which reoccurs further in the album.
Going back to a pattern on all of their previous LPs, the Bay Area natives then come back to a much more melodic, much deeper feelings with songs about the trials and tribulations of married life, “At Least I Have You” and their closing track, “Mistakes.”
The 14-year veterans continue to take the listener on a roller coaster of emotion and feeling with this LP. Rather than trying to reinvent the wheel and follow in the footstep of so many artists turning electronic, Mates of State stays hot by freshening their already-famous synth-heavy pop eclectic, just a more polished version.
The album comes in wake of a nation-wide tour, which as of now does not include the Bay Area.
