Mates of State: While they are mates, they’re not mushy

By John Benson

The band is on tour with a string band.

Marital bliss may be something we all strive for but when you’re in an indie pop band, the idea of happily ever after can not only grow old fast but will invariably turn more people off than on to your music.

It’s for this reason that Mates of State’s Jason Hammel (drums, vocals) and his wife, Kori Gardner, (vocals, keyboards) consciously eschew any material that even hints of romantically gooey schmaltz.

“There’s no rule, but it’s always up for interpretation what the songs are about,” said Hammel, calling from their Connecticut home. “But people can feel it becomes schmaltzy like, ‘Oh they’re married and they play in a band together’ and ‘Oh how sweet.’

“So they just automatically assume the songs are about that.”

In looking back at the rise of Mates of State, which garnered success early on with its quirky, poppy indie sound heard on the duo’s first three albums (2000’s “My Solo Project,” 2002’s “Our Constant Concern” and 2003’s “Team Boo”), there was a tangible sea change experienced by the act on its 2006 effort “Bring it Back.”

While light at times, the material possessed a slight hint of darkness, which in turn positioned the act’s songs with more gravity and integrity. The same can be said for the outfit’s recently released album “Re-Arrange Us.”

“I think there is definitely some darkness in all of the new songs,” Hammel said. “And contrary to popular belief, we don’t write about our relationship and our marriage and even ourselves all of the time. Very few of these songs have anything to do directly with ourselves, but I think at the same time, our songs are very personal, just like art is very personal.

“So again they are snapshots of our life, whether they’re about us or other people.”

One new song in particular that is emblematic of this songwriting direction is “My Only Offer,” which features bubbly vocals from Gardner who declares, “I always wanted to be the face in front of me.”

“I think that song is about our life here in Connecticut, and some of our friends that aren’t artists and what their life is like,” Hammel said. “We were imagining ourselves as like being different from theirs and there is like this dark undertone of entrapment of that life and one that we sort of want to avoid.”

Fans can expect to hear this track and more new songs when Mates of State, now touring with a string band, makes its Steel City return Wednesday at Mr. Small’s Theatre.

“I don’t know, we just love playing Pittsburgh,” Hammel said. “It’s fun and this is like the biggest show we’ve ever done as far as like the stage show and production aspect. I think people will like it.

“There’s some video and having the extra [string] players means there’s a lot more dynamics, too. It used to be balls-to-the-wall for 60 minutes and now there’s a little bit more dynamics that bring the show up and down a little bit.”

Sounds like the only thing missing are a few dancers onstage.

“There are no dancers, unless you want to come up and dance,” Hammel said.

When it’s pointed out that this offer will be in print, he laughed, “That’s true, so really anybody can come up and dance.”