Mates of State comprises organist Kori Gardner and drummer Jason Hammel, a married couple now three albums deep into a career crafting bouncy indie pop tunes in which they giddily shout two-part harmonies over cryptic lyrics: "This is the blood that we're made of/So tell it like a chronicle/Who's dancing all around?/Let's give it to me, give it to me now." Onstage, Gardner and Hammel set up directly across from each other, swapping loving stares and goofy glances between bouts of cutesy, corny stage banter.
"She just got her wisdom teeth out today. She can't really talk."
"He's totally lying."
If you'd just suffered through a lousy day -- lost your job, pissed off your mate, wrecked your car -- Mates of State is the worst possible band you could see afterward: sickeningly, pervasively cute.
