Adrienne, if you still read this busted old thing, drop me a line—I want to hear some funky Spain stories, yo!For the rest of you, welcome to this month’s installment of “The fifteen minutes of my life I haven’t spent in school, work or bed.”

Mates Of State - Team BooThe honeymoon is over.After the unfortunate mid-tempo misstep of Our Constant Concern, the lovable drums-organ duo of Jason Hammel and Kori Gardner have decided to return to what once worked for them: their incredible energy and their impossible stomach-wrenching cuteness. See, shortly after their debut album, My Solo Project, Hammel and Gardner got married. They seem to really enjoy the wedlocked life, because the packaging for Team Boo communicates exactly one message: “We’re soooooooooooo in love with each other!” Proof? The album comes with a fold-it-yourself MASH card.As for the music, things have brightened up considerably. While Our Constant Concern had its share of hooks, it was nowhere near as peppy and upbeat as their debut, something Team Boo takes great measures to rectify. Openers “Ha Ha” and “Whiner’s Bio” return to the classic Mates of State formula: hyperactive Yamaha organ + hyperactive glee-filled harmonizing from Hammel and Gardner = crazy crazy crazy.Some of the slower songs work as well, notably “Parachutes (Funeral Song),” eschewing the organ for straight piano. Again, echoes of the debut, in this case “I Have Space.” As the album continues, however, it becomes increasingly clear that the first hit is always the strongest. My Solo Project was such an impressive album because it crammed as much infectious joy and energy into a piece of plastic as is physically possible. It took you by surprise, knocked your head around and had you singing for days afterwards in the same gleeful way.And that’s why the honeymoon is over. Now on their third album, Hammel and Gardner are basically mining the same territory they did when they began this crazy ride. At least this time, they’ve come close to recapturing the same spirit of the original package, and if you’ve never heard Mates of State belt out a tune, Team Boo isn’t a bad place to start. If you felt that the afterglow had worn off after Our Constant Concern, however, Team Boo may not change your mind.