Mates of State cause great nostalgia. The sounds of Bring It Back echo late '80s and early '90s pop. I'm reminded of school boy days running amuck during the dog days of a midwestern summer. Nothing to tie me down, no teachers to obey, and tons of radio stations full of the latest pop hits to keep me company. And while Bring It Back would have been a fantastic fit during the times of bubblegum pop stars and glam metal heroics, the album feels a little out of place. "Nature and the Wreck" could have been that Debbie Gibson or Susanna Hoff ballad to make your 13 year old sister crush even harder on the 16-year-old hunk next door. The synth heavy "So Many Ways" perverts the Quasi ethos into a grab bag of Flock of Seagulls anthems and 'Til Tuesday parodies. And how apropos that Bring It Back would house "Fraud in the 80s," which is indeed the biggest rip-off of electronic pop from the decade of decadence. It's hard to shake the image of college freshmen dancing in hot pants and leg warmers, snorting lines of coke, and doing those cheesy shimmies that were televised to a confused populace during the last legs of American Bandstand. Those of us who were wide-eyed and naive thought life in our teens would be as dreamy and peachy as MTV promised. Of course, we were the generation that turned our backs on the Izod, Hypercolor, Roxette '80s for a marginalized wardrobe of torn denim and baggy flannel shirts. Apparently Mates of State would prefer to forget most of the '90s and travel back to a time when radio was innocent, carefree, and driven by "Word Up." You can't fault them for wanting to recapture that time, to put it in a bottle and unleash it for a crowd wanting to hear fun, but good pop. Sadly, Bring It Back--appropriate title and all--is at best shaky. It all seems a bit too canned and contrived. While trying to bring it back, Kori and Jason have taken a few steps back.
1. Think Long
2. Fraud in the 80s
3. Like U Crazy
4. Beautiful Dreamer
5. What it Means
6. For the Actor
7. Nature and the Wreck
8. So Many Ways
9. Punchlines
10. Running Out