The Posies return with their 7th studio recording and the first in 5 years and it has been worth the wait. The songs are all composed by guitarist/keyboardists Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow, the original members, and current members Matt Harris on drums and Darius Minwalla on bass. There are also a number of guest vocalists including Hugh Cornwall, Lisa Lobsinger, and Paco Loco (who also shared in production duties). The 12 tracks, totaling about 42 minutes, have no waste, no filler – these are well-crafted pop/rock songs in the tradition of Badfinger, Hollies, The Beatles and Beach Boys, to name a few of the influences heard on this collection.

The Posies began life in Washington State in the Seattle area in the midst of the Grunge movement of the late 80’s. While record labels were trying to sign every band that wore plaid shirts and sounded like either Nirvana or Pearl Jam, The Posies were also deservedly signed, but their sound was anything but Grunge. With vocals right out of Hollies heaven and songs that could compete from the likes of Brian Wilson, Paul McCartney and David Paton (Pilot), “Dear 23”, their second album, proved that there was still room for the “classic” sounds of the above-mentioned songwriters. The next album, and what many consider their masterpiece, “Frosting on the Beater”, blended those pop sensibilities with a harder edge – “grungy Hollies” if you can imagine that. And that power pop, melodic heaviness carried them forward with a couple more LPs until their first sabbatical. Jon and Ken pursued solo careers, hooking up here and there over the years, with some interesting projects including joining the reconstituted Big Star (another huge influence on their songwriting and style) and Ken joining REM’s touring band and appearing on some of that band’s recent recordings.

Now they are back with Blood/Candy, and it captures a good mix of all their styles and with some new elements as well. The songs range from delicate vocal pop songs with their signature harmony vocals, hard-edged rock songs, and a couple that explore more complex arrangements that could be part of Elbow’s repertoire. They have certainly kept up with the current alterative scene while not losing their ability to compose songs that leave you satisfied and wanting more. Though the songs in general aren’t as heavy as they were on “Frosting”, there are still plenty with an edge that will satisfy long-time fans and new listeners alike.

Blood/Candy is a powerful album because of The Posies’ uncompromising approach to harmony rock and excellent songwriting, something that is in sadly short supply these days. If you are looking for a breath of musical fresh air and thought that great pop/rock was dead, then you should check out The Posies now and dig into their back catalogue – it will be worth it.