Mountaintops is the seventh album by American indie pop band Mates of State. It was released through Barsuk on September 13, 2011. The song "Palomino" was featured in a 15-second Ice Breakers commercial where a man and a woman share a cab in a rainy night.
Reception
Mountaintops received generally favorable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 74, based on 18 reviews.
Robert Christgau gave it an A− and wrote that "the wholeness of the music leaves us feeling they're more than OK." Spin gave the album a 7/10, writing, "Mountaintops has plenty of upbeat romps, but the most compelling moments are the epic, minor-key laments 'At Least I Have You' and 'Unless I'm Led,' which argue that even the truest of loves can still feel lonely and miserable."
Paste placed Mountaintops at number 49 on their "Top 50 Albums of 2011" list. The magazine's writer Carey Hodges said: "On Mountaintops, the band's seventh full-length, the pair delivers more of their polished pop while tastefully showcasing a handful of warped turns that partner lush synths with minor-key experiments."
Track listing
Personnel Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.
Mates of State Jason Hammel Kori Gardner
Additional musicians John Panos – horns Kenji Shinagawa – guitars Ryan Breen – guitar
Technical Chris Coady – mixing Steve Fallone – mastering
Imagery Jeremy Paul Beasley – artwork, packaging
References