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Mates of State

Mates Of State: Tiny Desk Concert
Mallory Benedict/NPR

Tiny Desk

Mates Of State: Tiny Desk Concert

The modesty of Mates of State's performance both suits and complements a band whose music is about generosity of spirit, forgiveness of failing, and the celebration of all things hard-won enough to be worth celebrating.

Mates Of State: Tiny Desk Concert

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Mates Of State: Reaching Surprising New 'Mountaintops'

Mates of State's newest album is Mountaintops. Glynis Selina Arban hide caption

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Glynis Selina Arban

Review

Music Reviews

Mates Of State: Reaching Surprising New 'Mountaintops'

Based first in Kansas, then in California, now in Connecticut, the members of Mates of State have been making music for 15 years. Still, their ebullient new album is a sonic surprise.

Mates Of State: Reaching Surprising New 'Mountaintops'

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New Mix: Lykke Li, A Fiery Furnace Goes Solo, More

Clockwise from top: Tinariwen, Lykke Li, Eleanor Friedberger, John Maus. Courtesy of the artists hide caption

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Courtesy of the artists

All Songs Considered

New Mix: Lykke Li, A Fiery Furnace Goes Solo, More

This week, All Songs Considered starts fresh with brand-new music due out this summer. Hear songs from Eleanor Friedberger, Mates of State, Tinariwen, and others.

New Mix: Lykke Li, A Fiery Furnace Goes Solo, More

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The Best Of 'Song Of The Day'

Mates of State's cover of Tom Waits' "Long Way Home" takes an unexpected approach to the morose original. courtesy of the artist hide caption

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courtesy of the artist

Review

New Music

The Best Of 'Song Of The Day'

NPR Music's Song of the Day features a new track every weekday, with analysis of the music, links to each artist's websites and, of course, a chance to hear the song itself. Here, Song of the Day editor Stephen Thompson talks about recent selections by Mates of State, O.M.D. with Aretha Franklin, Blonde Redhead and more.

The Best Of 'Song Of The Day'

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Mates Of State: Bathing Tom Waits In The Light Of The Sun

Mates of State's Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel turn Tom Waits' loping "Long Way Home" into a relentlessly sunny anthem. courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Review

Song Of The Day

Mates Of State: Bathing Tom Waits In The Light Of The Sun

It may be a Tom Waits cover, but there's no mistaking "Long Way Home" for anything but another catchy and ingratiating Mates of State song, sung in praise of a love that's strong enough to weather adversity, adventure and a few detours down side roads.

'Long Way Home' by Mates of State

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Live in Concert

Mates Of State In Concert

The music of Mates of State has always been playfully innocent and unabashedly upbeat. But on their latest CD, Re-Arrange Us, Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel show that they've grown a little older and wiser, with their richest and most reflective collection of songs to date. Hear a full concert by the band, webcast live on NPR.org from the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. Also on the bill: Florida-based co-headliner Black Kids.

Mates Of State In Concert

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Mountain Stage

Mates Of State On Mountain Stage

Jason Hammel and Kori Gardner-Hammel perform as the duo Mates of State. The pair's latest album, Re-Arrange Us, is beginning to show up on year-end "best of" lists across the country. In this performance on Mountain Stage, the couple showcases songs from that album, as well as 2006's Bring It Back.

Listen Now: Mates Of State On Mountain Stage

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World Cafe

Mates Of State's Family Band Solution

XPN

Mates of State's music has only gotten richer and more rewarding since its members started a family: Their superb new album, Re-Arrange Us, finds it celebrating the tricky balancing act of marriage, parenthood and rock 'n' roll in a way that's undeniably uplifting and cheerful. Hear songs from that album in a session with World Cafe host David Dye.

Mates Of State's Family Band Solution

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Review

Song Of The Day

Mates Of State: Pleading The Fifth

In "Now," the pair ditches its familiar electric organ for a softer blend of piano and synthesizer before jumping feet-first into a clash of childhood and maturity. What could be a gleeful, infantile chorus ("Now now now now now now!") is undercut by an all-too-adult existentialist lament.

'Now' by Mates of State

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Favorite Sessions

Mates Of State: Rock After Children

KUT 90.5

While it may have replaced its trademark organ with a piano, Mates of State's members still crank out some of the finest indie-pop music around. In a session from KUT, the duo explains the need to progress as a band and plays songs from its fifth CD, Re-Arrange Us.

Hear an interview and performance from KUT

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Bryant Park Project Video

Mates of State 'Re-Arrange Us,' to Excellent Effect

In the past eight years, Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel have made five albums, married and had two children. The pair, who record as Mates of State, stop by the Bryant Park Project studios to play from their new album, Re-Arrange Us.

Mates of State 'Re-Arrange Us,' to Excellent Effect

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All Songs Considered

Mates of State, Sam Phillips, Jethro Tull, More

On this week's show, hear music from Rupa and the April Fishes, New Orleans pianist Henry Butler, and Rachel Taylor Brown, another great unknown from our Second Stage series.

Mates of State, Sam Phillips, Jethro Tull, More

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World Cafe

Mates of State: Intimate Details

XPN

Mates of State's Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel leave little to the imagination: They use their relationship as fodder for songwriting, and once filmed a video wearing only their underwear. Full of punk-informed jams and quirky ballads, Bring it Back is their most diverse and personal album yet.

Mates of State: Intimate Details

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