Search - Posies :: Amazing Disgrace

Brian E. from RACINE, WI
Reviewed on 4/15/2010...

This is the Posies fourth release, and it is perhaps their best album that I've heard from the band (I have heard Dear 23 and Frosting on the Beater). What makes it so strong is the production varies a lot from the other major label discs. It's a thicker more full or dense and a more rocking sound overall, and I like it more than Don Fleming's really loud electric sound and the psychedelic revival of Dear 23 (both of these styles are great, but the production style on here just seems to fit the Posies well in my opinion...the bass and drums maybe stick out more perhaps). This album uses a lot of great forms of guitar pop rather than what these other two albums have (AllMusic Guide said this and I agree). It is more varied and powerful because of that in my opinion. "Daily Mutilation" feels like a confidant early Cheap Trick tune and "Grant Hart" is a punk rock tribute to the underappreciated singer-drummer of Husker Du. Ken has two great ballads as well that are welcome as acoustic tunes on their duo live album.

The songs from this album are also just as strong most of the time relative to the other albums. There are some great filler tracks though like "Broken Record" and maybe "Hate Song". Some of the best tunes like Auer's "Throwaway" and Stringfellow's "Grant Hart" and "Precious Moments" grace the record. The record never really even bores at the end with the uplifting closer "Will you Ever Ease Your Mind". "The Certainity" also feels great at the end.

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One of the best albums of the decade! (4.5 stars!)

D. Lee | Baltimore, Md United States | 07/28/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've read through the reviews here and most of them seem pretty off-base to me. Hurt and disappointment are just as much a part of life as joy and happiness, and feeling a full range of emotions is a part of being human, so I don't see why people would criticize an artist for expressing hurt and disappointment, which is what many of these reviews seem to be doing. It's kind of ironic that many people would criticize this album as being bitter and dispirited when the majority of the most popular albums of the 90's are much more bitter and dispirited than this one (either that or mindlessly angry and aggressive with little to no attempt at being tuneful about it). This album is the picture of buoyancy compared to work by Nirvana, My Bloody Valentine, Pearl Jam, Tool, Alice in Chains, Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails, Portishead, Korn-I could go on like this for days. This could easily be one of the top 5 albums of the 90's, and it's better than anything that I've heard by any of the acts that I've just listed. And none of those guys' (or girls) chops can compare to the Posies', these guys are an amazingly tight band (even when they rotate rhythm sections). The rhythm section this time around is Joe Howard on the bass and Brian Young on drums, Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow take on their usual roles as songwriters, guitarists, and vocalists. The Posies are also way beyond most of those other bands as lyricists, and it's a major plus that the lyrics are included in the liner notes. At 14 tracks this album is an "amazing" value, I've seen "Amazing Disgrace" described as a tour de force and it's hard to disagree. The masterful slow to mid-tempo rockers which dominate this release are extremely well constructed, and they hold up unbelievably well to repeated listens. This album remains engaging all throughout because they keep the power-pop sound consistent but with enough variety in the mix to keep things from becoming monotonous. They even manage to throw in a few psychedelic tricks such as the pretty effective Hendrix imitation guitar solo on "World", which almost sounds as if it was lifted straight from the title track for "Are You Experienced", backwards phrasing and all. They even have a "Strawberry Fields" type freak out at the end of "Grant Hart". They incorporate a variety of tricks and techniques yet they never indulge in gimmick-ery for the sake of, because it's all done with the same inerrant sense of craftsmanship. Even grunge elements that are so often that sub-genre's downfall are used to great effect and in just the right doses by the Posies on this release (the distorted power chords that sometimes ring-out for up to 8 measures or more-it works because unlike many grunge bands, the Posies maintain an absolutely stellar rhythm section and a strong sense of harmony). This album, like pretty much all of the Posies' work (that I've heard so far) is FULL of hooks with infectious harmonies. They maintained this focus at a time when most acts created hooks that seemed to focus more on catchy and biting refrains than harmony. Even the hook for the controversial (at least for many of the reviewers here) "Every Body is a F------ Liar" has a great harmony. It's one of the best rockers on the album, and it's far from the mindless rant that the title may seem to suggest. The entire album is thoughtful and well-crafted, and full of both highly effective slow to mid-tempo rockers that perfectly capture the hurt and disillusionment that comes from deep disappointment, and high energy rockers that show the group at its power-pop best. And while they express disappointment and disillusionment, they still manage to offer hope along the way (Fight it) and reach out to tell a friend to open up and lighten up because things could get better (Will you ever ease your mind?). I know that it went largely ignored and unappreciated but this is hands-down one of the best albums of the decade.



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