''Re-Arrange Us'' is the fifth studio album by American

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...

duo

Mates of State Mates of State are an American indie pop duo, active since 1997. The group is the husband-and-wife team of Kori Gardner (born June 16, 1974) (vocals, organ, synthesizer, piano, electric piano, and occasional guitar and drums) and Jason Hammel (b ...

. It was released on May 20, 2008 via

Barsuk Records Barsuk Records ( ) is an independent record label based in Seattle, Washington which was founded in 1998 by Christopher Possanza and Josh Rosenfeld, the members of the band This Busy Monster, to release their band's material. Its logo is a draw ...

, making it the band's second album for the label. Production was handled by

Peter Katis Peter Katis is an American Grammy Award-winning record producer, audio engineer, mixer, and musician. Katis is best known for working with alternative and indie rock bands. He works primarily out of his own residential studio, Tarquin Studios, ...

and the duo themselves. The album debuted at number 140 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and number 10 on the Tastemakers charts in the United States.

Critical reception

''Re-Arrange Us'' was met with generally favorable reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

. At

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, which assigns a

normalized Normalization or normalisation refers to a process that makes something more normal or regular. Science * Normalization process theory, a sociological theory of the implementation of new technologies or innovations * Normalization model, used in ...

rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an

average In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...

score of 71 based on fifteen reviews.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

's Tim Sendra praised the album, stating: "most of all it will go down like honey for Mates of State fans who have been following the band's progression from an edgy lo-fi duo to the indie rock hit making machine they have so gracefully become". Chris Parker of ''

Alternative Press Alternative press may refer to: Individual publications * ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine Alternative journalism * Alternative media ** Alternative media (U.S. political left) ** Alternative media (U.S. political r ...

'' wrote: Gardner and drummer Jason Hammel discover a prettier, fuller-bodied sound and enrich it with other instruments, such as strings on the inviting opener, 'Get Better'". Spencer Kornhaber of ''

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'' concluded: "adorned with piano and synth, the ten songs on ''Re-Arrange Us'' are fuller, more elegant vessels for the duo's warm, intricate melodies". In mixed reviews, Adam Moerder of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' stated: "unfortunately there aren't a lot of opportunities to get caught in that lovely crossfire on ''Re-Arrange Us'', a record that, for all its lush bells and whistles, finds the pair sounding as bare-boned and sparse as you'd expect a two-person band to be". Mike Mineo of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'' wrote: "despite some worthwhile moments in efforts like 'The Re-Arranger', 'My Only Offer', and the serenely infectious 'You Are Free', the biggest fault in ''Re-Arrange Us'' lies in the duo's inability this time around to capitalize upon original ideas that have been presented but not built upon". In his negative review for ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

'', Joshua Alston summed up: "the Mates recapture a bit of brio of 'The Re-Arranger' and 'Help Help', but the rest of ''Re-Arrange Us'' is only useful for putting the kids to sleep".

Accolades

Track listing

Charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2008 albums Mates of State albums Barsuk Records albums Albums produced by Peter Katis