Calling Mates Of State "charming" qualifies as faint praise, but it's also one of the best ways to describe the San Francisco-based husband-wife duo, since they do charm as well as anyone in their indie-pop class. Like Quasi, Yo La Tengo, Butterglory, and a handful of other married (and divorced) rockers, Mates Of State exploits the tension of a romantic and creative collaboration. On their fourth album, Bring It Back, vocalist-keyboardist Kori Gardner and vocalist-drummer Jason Hammel work to separate their talents, then reunite them with renewed purpose. Case in point: the album-opener "Think Long," which has Gardner and Hammel doing their own simultaneous, interlocking chants over a high electronic hum and a syncopated beat, then finally syncing up after nearly three minutes to recite the title together. It's a catchy—and, yes, charming—piece of pop deconstruction, but it's also a demonstration of what partnership means.