First rate Mates

WHAT: Mates of State

WHEN: 8 p.m., tomorrow

WHERE: Fine Line Music Café, 318 First Ave. N., Minneapolis

COST: $18/$20

In a musical industry where success is often measured by buzz bands and immediate hype, enduring the test of time as an indie artist is an accomplishment in and of itself, even more so when you take the hyper-critical weirdness of modern music blog journalism into account. Husband and wife duo Mates of State are a sure example of such a group and this Saturday, with two kids in tow, they will stop in Minneapolis on tour for their seventh studio album, “Mountaintops.”

“On this tour we’ve finally reached a level of peacefulness,” singer and keyboardist Kori Gardner said. “We made exactly the album we wanted to make. We had more control, and we don’t care what everyone thinks. It feels good to put what we wanted out exactly. It hit at the right time.”

Actively making music since the late ’90s, the band’s attitude is undoubtedly a function of the perceived highs and lows that their career has weathered. It’s not that they suffered any one significant incident. Rather, their career has been an enduring battle of categorization, something that, despite their numerous and loyal fans, inevitably got under their skin.

Their music has always been sunny, punk-influenced pop, incorporating layers of synths, keyboards and organ — all glued together with the fragmented harmonies of Gardner and her husband Jason Hammel. This, combined with their public relationship status, has led them to be consistently written off as “sweet” and “cute.”

“I think that people do love to hate us in a weird sort of way,” Gardner said. “I don’t read the music magazines anymore because it stresses me out. Social media has way more of an impact now, and I’d rather read a tweet about someone who really enjoyed our live performance than a music critic pigeonhole us because of our relationship and aesthetic. I wish people talked about the music part.”

The music of “Mountaintops,” one of their strongest releases yet, is worth conversation. Their newfound liberation is wholly evident in sprawling synth tracks like “Palomino” and “Total Serendipity.” There’s an element of ironic intrigue too, because they’ve taken the very components of musicianship that critics panned and magnified them. Stripped to its core, “Mountaintops” is very much a sweet and “feel-good” record. But, executed with such conviction and self-awareness, it radiates strength that wasn’t as pronounced in earlier releases such as “Re-Arrange Us” or “Bring It Back.“

The confidence is also a function of their hands-on approach to crafting the record. Not only did they directly involve themselves in the production end of things, but they allowed themselves ample time (nearly a year) to write, record and hone in on the precise elements that they wanted to exemplify in their final product.

“Having two babies has always made being a musician a balancing act,” Gardner said. “We had to figure out how to make touring happen. We hadn’t had time to be writing songs for six hours a day until recently because they weren’t old enough. I’ve finally started to feel like myself again.”

Slated to play shows for most of the year and likely some of the summer festival circuit, Mates of State has reached an admirable point of maturity in their career, and that’s something that no buzz band can ever take away.

“We’ve been a band for a long time,” Gardner said. “We’re going to be a band forever. Even if no one is watching us, we’ll be making music.”