YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE IT (12' EP)

Limited vinyl LP pressing. Mates of State's self-produced 2015 EP, You're Going To Make It, is nothing but choice cuts: five anthemic and emotionally-rich songs that will quickly take up residence in your mental jukebox; five anthemic songs that wriggle into your every waking hour like the earworms they are. This new batch of tunes is Mates of State in its purest form. The razor sharp harmonies, shimmering new wave synth melodies, an internal warmth that can only come from a couple that has been musically and romantically involved for nearly two decades, and lyrics that speak to both personal and universal concerns. On "Beautiful Kids," the band speaks to how, even though we are connected to one another 24/7 thanks to modern technology, a sense of loneliness still pervades. Or as Hammel puts it: "We all just want to be seen, but we won't look up from our screens so that we can be seen." "Gonna Get It" and "I Want To Run" build off the same inspiring notion of the EP's title, encouraging both themselves and their fans to keep striving no matter what the odds. And fist-pumping opener "Staring Contest" speaks to that delicious ache of schoolyard crushes and youthful love.