Mountaintops (album)

Mountaintops is the seventh album by American indie pop band Mates of State. It was released through Barsuk on September 13, 2011.^[1] 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.

Mountaintops
Studio album by Mates of State
Released	September 13, 2011
Studio	Studio 1973 (Brooklyn) Tarquin Studios (Bridgeport)
Genre	Indie pop
Length	37:23
Label	Barsuk
Producer	Mates of State
Mates of State chronology
Crushes (The Covers Mixtape) (2010) Mountaintops (2011) Greats (2015)

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	74/100[2]
Review scores
Source	Rating
The A.V. Club	B+[3]
AllMusic	[4]
Consequence of Sound	C+[5]
Paste	8.1/10[6]
Pitchfork	7.1/10[7]
PopMatters	5/10[8]
Robert Christgau	A−[9]
Spin	[10]
Sputnikmusic	3.0/5.0[11]

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.^[2]

Robert Christgau gave it an A− and wrote that "the wholeness of the music leaves us feeling they're more than OK."^[9] 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."^[10]

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."^[12]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Mates of State.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Palomino"	4:54
2.	"Maracas"	3:22
3.	"Sway"	3:34
4.	"Unless I'm Led"	5:21
5.	"Total Serendipity"	3:40
6.	"Basement Money"	3:32
7.	"At Least I Have You"	3:34
8.	"Desire"	2:47
9.	"Change"	2:38
10.	"Mistakes"	4:01

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.^[13]

Mates of State

• Jason Hammel
• Kori Gardner

Additional musicians

• John Panos – horns (5, 8, 10)
• Kenji Shinagawa – guitars (5, 7, 8)
• Ryan Breen – guitar (1)

Technical

• Chris Coady – mixing (Soundtracks)
• Steve Fallone – mastering (Sterling Sound)

Imagery

• Jeremy Paul Beasley – artwork, packaging