Mates Of State – You're Going To Make It

Connecticut’s favourite husband-wife duo return with a five-song burst of new wave-tinged melodicism, as warm and wonderful as ever. It’s splendid from the off, as the electro sequences of Staring Contest prop up a giddily teenage sense of romance, while I Want To Run channels the heart-bursting rush of Belinda Carlisle’s grandest anthems. Stirring stuff.

Mates Of State’s last EP (2004’s All Day) was a transitional phase; a break from the ‘neo-prog-pop’ of their first three records and a tentative toe into the calmer waters they’ve since immersed themselves in. You’re Going To Make It may not represent a similar line in the sand, although following drummer Jason Hammel’s suggestion that the album-as-concept is “probably dead”, we can presumably look forward to more quick hits like this. Take a listen to the chorus of Gonna Get It, all windswept defiance engulfing Kori Gardner’s firm-footed optimism – you’ll be grateful for whatever they throw your way. [Will Fitzpatrick]