Every Kind of Light by The Posies @ ARTISTdirect.com

The Posies sure have a funny idea about breaking up -- though they supposedly called it quits in 1999, the band has been playing reunion shows and releasing albums of archival material on a fairly regular basis since, and 2005's Every Kind of Light is their first full-blown studio effort since 1998's alleged swan song, Success. With founders, songwriters, and general frontal lobes Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow joined by Matt Harris and Darius Minwalla, Every Kind of Light seems to pick up where Success left off, finding the band in a low-key frame of mind on most of the songs, though the rootsy accents of that album have been abandoned in favor of a stripped-down variation on the baroque pop of Dear 23. (And if you were hoping for some of the guitar firepower of Frosting on the Beater and Amazing Disgrace, there is a taste of that on "I Finally Found a Jungle I Like" and "All in a Day's Work," though the more measured tempos certainly dominate the album.) The new lineup of the band sounds as accomplished as ever, and the production (with Auer and Stringfellow credited as the Ineptunes) gives the material clean and well-arranged settings. Auer and Stringfellow's political concerns also rise to the surface here, explicitly on "Sweethearts of Rodeo Drive" and "It's Great to Be Here Again" and implicitly on "That Don't Fly" and "Could He Treat You Better," all of which deal with their mixed feelings about life in America in the wake of George W. Bush and the War in Iraq. But for all the care that obviously went into Every Kind of Light and the firm sense of purpose in its political subtext, the album in toto rings a bit hollow -- it never hits as hard as it ought to, and there's simply too much dead air in the album's long mid-tempo stretches. It's nice to have the Posies back in the studio again, but Every Kind of Light isn't the triumphant return fans might have hoped for. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide

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The Rocker

posted on Tue, 04 Dec 2007 19:17:45

Every Kind Of Song

The Posies
EVERY KIND OF LIGHT
Rykodisc 2005

They’re baaack! After 6 long and lonely years, the most underrated band of the Seattle scene has returned and it’s great to have them here again! The Posies return with their 10th record called, ‘Every Kind Of Light’ and they haven’t lost a frosting on the beat.
Taking the harmonies of The Hollies and crossing it with the sonic guitar shavings of Teenage Fanclub, they’ve combined them with the pop sensibilities of the The Beatles.
They have kept that power pop grunge, while going in a new direction. Bringing them into the new millennium, even if it’s half a decade into it. We ‘re glad there here.

I think working on outside projects like BIG STAR and REM has helped these guys bring something back to the table. A table that has been set and ready for the return of The Posies. Their new cd, ‘Every Kind Of Light’ is a great listen, even if you don’t know their past catalog. Singer/Songwriters Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer have assembled a new rhythm section of drummer Darius Minwalla and bassist Matt Harris, that makes this a total band effort, one we can’t wait to see out on the road.

From the opening bass line groove of “It’s Great To Be Here Again!” you know this is going to be a special record. With songs and melodies that you’ll be singing along to after the first listen. “Conversations” has that ‘Dear 23’ sound to it as does ‘All In A Days Work” with its low end fuzz. Taking us back to ‘Frosting’ along with the distorted hard driving power pop of “Second Time Around”. The mellow swirlings of “Anything and Everything” gives us the lyric “I got every kind of light”.” Check out the piano on “ Love Comes” and “That Don’t Fly”. Take the lyrics about breaking hearts, crossed with melodies and hooks and you’ve got song craftsmanship. “Second Time Around” and “Jungle”, find them rocking out. “The Last Crawl” is a great drinking song.
In lyrical sense, they’ve takin a stand with political themes ehich are intertwined with broken hearted love songs that have just enough sugar, it doesn’t come across as a protest record. For a CD that was created in about 3 weeks, this marks quite the return for a band that has been sorely missed for the last 6 years. Thanks to The Posies and Rykodisc for giving us one of the best CD’s of 2005. A CD the band HAD to make and did make. –The Rocker

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