Long before the male/female duo of Mates of State formed in Lawrence, KS and moved to California to become rock stars, the duo of Matt Suggs and Debby Vander Wall moved from California to Lawrence, KS to become lo-fi, obscure, indie rockers.
The two were on the cutting floor of the biggest scene in 90's indie-rock. They were contemporaries to the likes of Pavement and Archers of Loaf. They were label mates with Neutral Milk Hotel, Polvo and Superchunk. They never really got the same attention as the others, but they were in on it, they were part of the lo-fi scene. They have a really twee-pop sound to them. When Debbie takes lead vocals, you have to think Mo Tucker style Velvet Underground. When Matt takes the duty, it's what you'd expect, indie-slacker style a-la Pavement. They don't stray from from the pop spectrum, you get some feedback here and there, but no unexpected burst of guitar wailing. It's all very cute. And, as the liners indicate, it all sounds homespun on this LP.
Back in the day, my favorite part about the band wasn't even the music, it was the fact that Debby Vander Wall worked at the Love Garden. I mean, most if not all record stores, have the cute indie rock girl working behind the counter. She may look mousey and wear thick framed eye glasses, she may be covered in tattoos and look dangerous, but regardless, she's cute with great taste in music and you develop a crush on her trying to buy an album that starts a conversation with her. Not only was Debby that girl at the record store, but she was in a band! I mean, how could you not fall victim to that infatuation. She not only has killer taste in tunes like you, she's in a band that tours and puts out albums. You could be pictured on the liner notes, co-write a song, and be a part of it all if you could only find that one record that impresses her.
The Skills of the Star Pilot
Waiting on the Guns
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