''Our Constant Concern'' is the second album by American indie pop 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 ...

. Released on January 22, 2002, it was the first of two albums released under

Polyvinyl Records In polymer chemistry, vinyl polymers are a group of polymers derived from substituted vinyl () monomers. Their backbone is an extended alkane chain . In popular usage, "vinyl" refers only to polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Examples Vinyl polymers are ...

Critical reception

Mackenzie Wilson of

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 ...

called it a "stunning follow-up to 2000's '' My Solo Project''," praising the duo's mixture of "sugary pop hooks" and "deep lyrical conversations" through "young but charming" harmonies, concluding " eir relationship is their musical storybook and ''Our Constant Concern'' playfully suggests that love can really be beautiful." ''

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'' writer Rob Mitchum was disappointed with the album, noting the slow tempo of the material, heavy use of non-distorted organ effects, and the duo's harmonies being "far less eccentric and less vibrant" compared to their first effort. Despite giving praise to "Quit Doin' It" and "Halves and Have-Nots", he wrote "these brief flashes, even on a thirty-minute album, do little to keep the dreaded sophomore slump virus from hitting ''Our Constant Concern''."

Track listing

In popular culture

The

song "Girls Singing" from the ''Our Constant Concern'' album was prominently featured in " Changes: You Got A Prom Wit Dat?" the first season (originally

series Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used i ...

)

finale Finale may refer to: Pieces of music * Finale (music), the last movement of a piece * ''Finale'' (Loggins and Messina album), 1977 * ''Finale'' (Pierrot album), 1999 * "Finale" (song), by Madeon * " Neo Universe/Finale", a single by L'Arc-en-C ...

of the

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

animated series An animated series, or a cartoon series, is a set of Animation, animated films with a common title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same main heroes, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series ...

Clone High ''Clone High'' is an adult animated science fiction sitcom created by Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and Bill Lawrence for MTV. It premiered on November 2, 2002, in Canada, and January 20, 2003, in the United States. Set at a high school popu ...

'', which premiered on

Teletoon Cartoon Network (formerly Teletoon) is a Canadian English-language discretionary specialty channel owned by Corus Entertainment. The channel primarily broadcasts animated series aimed at children and teenagers. It was launched on October 17 ...

on March 2, 2003.

References

2002 albums Mates of State albums Polyvinyl Record Co. albums {{2000s-indie-pop-album-stub