Mates of State - You're Going to Make It

Mates of State
You're Going to Make It EP
2015

HOLYCHILD and Matt & Kim can both thank Mates of State for creating the genre in which they know ply their trade. Way back when in 1997 Mates of State came together and released their first record of Power Pop with an Indie twist. Female and Male vocals working together to create something really new and wholly original. Time however is a cruel mistress and making ironic bubblegum pop is a young man's game. The first track "Staring Contest" is really solid, seeming as though the duo have not missed a beat, but on the next track "Beautiful Kids" is where things begin to fall apart. The song drags and is about their kids, sort of a rally against millennials and their addiction to technology. It feels like an old persons anthem not like the upbeat pop it should be. You're Going to Make It is a record that has come to late in their career and though there are some really solid aspects it never comes together with that magic they once had.

It's hard to say that a band as iconic as Mates of State are have fallen off, but this record just misses the mark. The vocals and synths sound really clean, but the lyrics are dated and at only five tracks the album still drags. Almost each track feels disjointed, and besides "Staring Contest" the attempts at ballads are to corny to be taken seriously. The album is more about the mundane life of being a parent than anything else, but the emotion is never there nor is it usually in this type of music. Life moves on but it seems the baton has been passed in this genre, and it passed Mates of State by. Go listen to "Palomino" and feel better about getting older.

4 out of 10