Wiki
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Release Date
13 September 2003
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Length
12 tracks
Folks familiar with Mates of State’s unique, untraditional sound will not be scared off by Team Boo, the bands third cd. They will recognize the jangling, warbling, clamor they enjoy and will feel welcome here. The band’s sounds haven’t changed drastically from their previous albums. For anyone not in the know, these off putting descriptions are just a part of what sets this band apart from the music community at large and makes them the delicious slice of key lime pie they are—sweet and tangy with a sharp eye-squinting bite.
Mates of State are a two-piece band consisting of the unabashed, lovey-dovey Kori Gardner (keyboard/vocals) and Jason Hammel (drums/vocals). Married since 2001 this couple does not seek to hide the bliss of their relationship like some other ‘mysterious’ male/female duo’s out there. Kori and Jason bring their happiness right into your car, living room, or headphones with each of their upbeat songs.
With interweaving harmonies, and keyboard led melodies, the kids ‘ooh ooh ooh’, and ‘ahh ahh ahh’ their way through twelve spastic tracks like children gone wild in daddy’s recording studio. The album is a fairly constant flow of high tempo songs you’re safe to chime along to at any key. The vocals range, aside from being predominately on the high side, pretty much all over the place. With song titles like ‘Ha Ha’, ‘Fluke’, and ‘Sound it Off’ how could you expect any less?
Managing to achieve that odd musical niche of quirky goodness, sharing elbow room with acts like The Like Young or The Moldy Peaches, this album only once seems to break away for a moment, winding down for the music-box-pretty and almost beautiful ‘Parachutes (Funeral Song)’, but it’s gone in a flash and it’s back to their usual bustling maelstrom with tracks like ‘Whiner’s Bio’, which are more their typical fare. How else could you sing a song like that besides whining like a spoiled child? They may sometimes be undeniably off-key, but as with the somewhat indiscernible meanings behind the lyrics, once you’re humming along it doesn’t much matter. It’s similar to infectious laughter. It’s hard not to have fun in this sonic playroom with such precocious hosts.
Review by, Michael Delgado
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