When The Posies played at London’s 100 Club last month, tracks from 1993’s joyous Frosting On The Beater featured heavily at the nuts end of the set. The album, a power-pop gem glistening through the Puget Sound murk, was both milestone and millstone, a classic by which every subsequent release would be judged.
Solid States isn’t a return to that kind of pristine form, but it’s been a difficult time for the band (bass player Joe Skyward lost his battle with cancer in March, and drummer Darius Minwalla died last year), and the shoots of recovery are poking through.
It sounds more like a collection of polished home recordings than a truly coherent band album, but when the harmonies fly and the melodies tumble – as they do on the genuinely lovely Titanic or on the soaring Squirrel vs Snake – The Posies can still reach those old highs.
