Kevin Bronson on July 2nd, 2010

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One of indie-rock’s finest husband-and-wife teams, Mates of State, are stretching out a bit for the summer. Their recently released digital collection, “Crushes (The Covers Mixtape),” is a surprising tour de pop that features the Kansas-bred duo of Jason Hammel and Kori Gardener taking on songs by Daniel Johnston (“True Love Will Find You in the End”),  Tom Waits (“Long Way Home”), Fleetwood Mac (“Second Hand News”), Death Cab for Cutie (“Technicolor Girls”) and the Mars Volta (“Son Et Lumiere”). The video for the Johnston song was a collaboration between the Mates and ABC-TV News Now (remember when journos maintained a facade of objectivity?) involving mobile projectors. And their current “Summer Crushes” tour not only boasts unchained rockers Free Energy as openers but sprinkles in elements of a variety show, with comedians Todd Barry and Nick Thune as well as magicians, jugglers, escape artists and other sideshows. The digital release is cheap, and Mates are offering a couple songs for free.

||| Live: Mates of State perform tonight and Saturday at the Echo.

||| Download: After the jump, trade your e-mail for “True Love Will Find You in the End” (another track is available from their website):