Disco de The Posies: “Frosting on the Beater”

This is the high point of the Posies' career so far. Dear 23 is great; this one is even better. It rocks. It moves you. It's very creative, yet most of the songs sound like they belong on the radio -- at least, the mythical radio of my youth where all good, catchy songs are played. I wouldn't be surprised if this eventually becomes a serious cult favorite, one of those Big Star/Nick Drake things where a great artist or album that wasn't very popular in it's day becomes a touchstone many years later. That's how good this is. Five stars isn't enough. Six, maybe.

I've been listening to this (and their previous major label release, Dear 23) for the last several weeks in my car. I like it a lot. I first became aware of The Posies through Jon & Ken's involvement with Big Star. I had avoided The Posies' own music for too long. Now I know what they're about. Solid songwriting, mixed with some energetic guitar-fueled tunes, makes for an enjoyable time. The Posies display their pop chops on "Flavor of the Month", "Definite Door", "Solar Sister", and "Dream All Day". It just so happens that those 4 were all released as singles. The prime test of any worthwhile music is if it pops up in your head involuntarily; this does. I've enjoyed two bands from the 90s (Belly and Catherine Wheel) and now I have a third that I like. Gotta admire any band that puts The Hollies on a pedestal the way this one does. They obviously have good taste. "Frosting On the Beater" is The Posies at their best and it's their most popular release. On second thought, I give it a 5 star rating; it's that good.

Flashback to the dull, wet English summer of 1993. I had just broken up with the girl who I thought was the girl of my dreams, and was crawling around sloppy drunk with my metaphorical tail between my legs, when IT happened. After hearing 'Solar Sister' on the radio one afternoon, I came across this album in my local independent record shop, parted with some cash, and took it home. Sprawled in my room a couple hours later, with a big coffee and a bigger joint, I slid the CD into the player, kicked back and had my eyes opened... From the opening chiming powerchords of 'Dream All Day', to the squalls of modulating, downtuned jangle reaching up into the stratosphere at the close of 'Coming Right Along', this is an album of truly monumental proportions. Truly of it's own time, every track grabs you by the ears and plays tricks with your head- it seems every time I listen, I hear yet another melody or counter-melody. Stirring stuff... Even now, some eight years on, I still listen to this album almost every day. Even though I am now happily married, with a mortgage, dog, etc etc, I can still drift back to that lost drunken summer in the instant that it takes to press play and hear the greatest album I have ever heard all over again.

There's not much to be said on this record that other reviewers haven't already mentioned. I will ask you, however, if you are a fan of pop-rock music, to buy this album even if you have to go without food to do so. The Posies are very talented and clever, a true best-band-that-no-one's-ever-heard-of. Why the hell does Vertical Horizon flourish while these guys languish in obscurity? The world is an unfair place, everybody.

I honestly believe I started listening to music differently after I got this CD seven years ago. It has some amazing sounds coming from guitars and drums, well-written melodies and chords, and sometimes enigmatic lyrics. And the way Jon and Ken sing brings it all together.

The tunes are hummable, but not in the annoying bubble-gum way, especially because of the subject matter in a lot of the songs. It's hard to count how many true gems there are on this CD. "Solar Sister," "Love Letter Boxes," "Burn & Shine" all rank high on my list, but I truly enjoy every single song.

I can't think of a single album since the 70s that I would recommend as strongly as this one.