For those who take to Mindy White’s voice like a hipster to Brooklyn or flock to the musicality of Copeland’s discography, States’s new full-length, Room to Run, will almost certainly satisfy. The pristine dirtiness of White’s vocal performance adds some grunge to the typical Copeland instrumentation. What’s intriguing about Room to Run, as opposed to States’s previous release, is the dynamics. There’s an ebb and flow. Hookiness and artistry work together simultaneously. For the most part.

The album erupts with “Timebomb” which introduces grunginess-turned-beautiful. The fullness of White’s harmonies hits when an unexpected chord progression captivates the listener mid-song. The track is powerful, with bassy drums that keep it dirty. What will intrigue the listener is the catchy flow of melody and lyric. “I’m like a timebomb rushin’ around, rushin’ around” may not make a whole ton of sense, but the combination of words and lilting vocals makes it work. 

Where States really soars musically is in “Captivating Me,” contrasted with the following track where White’s vocals are clearly the showcase. It’s up to personal preference, but the less high-pitched soaring melodies in the chorus, the better. States works best when they blend White’s intimate vocal ability with a power-poppy musical vibe.  

Sometimes “pop” indicates a lack of artistry. Not for States. The fourth track on the album, “Right or Not,” has a club banger feel but is very musically driven. The synthetic drums that are introduced don’t maintain a monotonous vibe. Rather, they mimic and blend well with the rawness of the real drum kit. The track demonstrates States’s perfected chorus hooks. There’s nothing like a good sing-along.

The middle of Room to Run gets a little less hooky and a little too synthy. “Everlasting” leaves the listener wanting a bigger chorus and more musical ingenuity while “Versus the Mirror” incorporates 1980s synthetic claps and the intensity of White’s soaring vocals. It’s not bad performance, per se, that makes these tracks weaker, but instead a lack of personality. There’s a quirkiness to the rest of the album that is indescribable - songs with unexpected chord progressions, songs that showcase the power of each member in States. Songs that don’t exhaust the listener.  

Paramore-like vocals in “Can’t Explain” should be used sparingly. It’s not that White can’t hit the notes, or doesn’t have a lovely timbre, but that higher-register belting is just exhausting. What “Can’t Explain” epitomizes, though, is the way lilting vocals pair perfectly with lyrical choices. These last three tracks, including “Generation” and “Follow It Home,” conclude the album with this very tactic. Easy-to-sing and fun-to-sing melodies. Shoulder shakin’ pop-punk chord progressions. In-the-pocket drum lines. Heart-wrenching combinations of each of these fortes that make the four-minute long tracks not seem like sagas. Room to Run as a work of art succeeds almost entirely. It intrigues, captivates, and keeps the audience listening until the last track. And a few slippages along the way never killed the journey. 

★★★★☆

*This review was composed by Cydney Hedgpeth