The Posies

Blood/Candy (Ryko)

By Megan Martin
Published: October 3rd, 2010 | 7:00pm

In 1993 the song “Dream All Day” brought the Posies to the attention of the music world as a well-crafted power pop band from the right hometown: Seattle. In a time when the vast majority donned Doc Martens and MTV actually played music videos, the Posies were touring the world, fighting and breaking up, getting back together and getting decent airtime with their major label releases. The bittersweetness of alt-rock and shoulder-length bobs on men slowly dissipated over the next couple of decades, but somewhere, the ‘90s—in all their floral printed, high-waisted, Jane’s Addiction, Pavement-loving alternativeness—returned with quite a bang. Allow us to re-introduce the Posies, who have released a progressive sounding new album, Blood/Candy.

While a band can’t move forward without adjusting their sound to the times, it’s questionable if the Posies have grasped the connection of what made them popular in the first place. It almost sounds like an entirely new band with the same name. The album starts out strong, the quirky pop melodies and grungy guitars of “For the Ashes” sending us on an emotional trip in and brings to mind a number of different genres and groups—jazz age theatricals, Pink Floyd voice effects, Journey-esque vocals, Eagle-Eye Cherry pop hooks. Despite the transformation and some notable songs, something is generally amiss in this latest attempt to regain the adoration of the alt-hip persuasion, but maybe that’s not what they’re going for. The lyrics are less cerebral than rambled poems, each song bouncing into the next with poppy instrumentals. They probably won’t be getting anymore airtime on MTV, but that’s not such a bad thing.

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Rykodisc Records