Search - Posies :: Every Kind of Light

A great blend of progressive elements and straight-up pop-ro

George Dionne | Cape Cod, MA | 08/22/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"With its special effects intro and faded fuzzy guitars, "It's Great to be Here Again" reminds me of an old James Bond theme. The layered chorus is quite melodic, without being overbearing. The smooth repetitive chorus is what is sure to hook you in on "Conversations". The verses are just as captivating in the own way, with just the right amount of falsetto to emphasize the emotion. A dominant warbling riff sets the pace for "All in a Days Work"; while a catchy chorus helps define the track. This is one of the more up-tempo songs on the disc.



"Second Time Around" keeps the energy flowing with muted riffs and pulsing keyboard tones. The song is a sweet story of rediscovering love with the one you let get away. "Could He Treat You Better" has a jazzy-blues feel to it with its soulful vocals, down beat drumming, and melodic soloing. "I Finally Found a Jungle I Like" is a great mix of piercing keyboards and thick guitar riffs that combine with a vocal arrangement reminiscent of the Beatles.



The Bad

Nothing notable



The Verdict

This was my first introduction to The Posies, and I must say that I was disappointed...that I hadn't discovered them sooner! Every Kind of Light is a great blend of progressive elements and straight-up pop-rock melodies."

Can't wait to hear it live

J. Davis | Shelton, WA USA | 07/17/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Posies are back, and they are a band again. This is not a Jon and Ken collaboration, it is a set of full-band tunes that should sound great as they take the show on the road this summer, first to Europe and then the US.



The song structures and tempos are as varied as any Posies record. "All In A Day's Work" and "Second Time Around" in particular are high-energy guitar blasts that recall Frosting on the Beater. "Anything and Everything," "Last Crawl," "Love Comes" and especially "Conversations" showcase the gorgeous vocals that are the Posies greatest talent.



The so-called political commentary here is really pretty subtle, not at all unwelcome or out of place. In "Could He Treat You Better?" Ken sings the blues for a woman being mistreated by her man. To the casual listener it might not be obvious that the woman is the USA and the abusive man is known by his middle initial W. Same goes for "That Don't Fly," which could be taken as leaving a lover behind, instead of a reluctant goodbye to the writer's homeland. The final track is the most obvious social comment - "Sweethearts of Rodeo Drive" slams consumer culture, takes digs at celebrity Humvee drivers, and asks "paper or plastic body bags?" just in case the listener doesn't "get" the connection between gas guzzlers and oil wars.



The Posies will never make Dear 23 again, as much as I'd like that. Restless creativity drives them in a number of new directions here - keyboards, horns, etc. I had to listen to this over and over the first week, something I haven't done with a new disc in a long time. It is still revealing its complexity. This is an excellent record - their best since Frosting. Don't miss it.

"

The Posies' best, and most varied album, so far!!!

W. Rabeneck | Arkansas United States | 07/13/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"They're b-a-a-a-ck!!! Seven years after their last full length studio album "Success", the POSIES are back and better than ever with their 2005 release "Every Kind of Light". From the time that they crank up the space cruiser on "It's Great To Be Here Again!" to the outro-jam on "Sweethearts of Rodeo Drive", "Every Kind of Light" is the POSIES' most consistent and most varied album to date.



The opening song "It's Great To Be Here Again!" is a futuristic Disco groove with an almost BEACH BOYS' style instrumental breakdown in the middle, and a little bit of Rapping near the end. It's an infectuous party song.



The second song "Conversations" begins with a clear, sweet guitar that sounds like a distant cousin of BIG STAR's "Ballad of El Goodo", but builds to a Hard Rocking chorus that wouldn't be out of place on the POSIES' "Frosting on the Beater" and "Amazing Disgrace" albums. The verse and the chorus are glued together by a very striking falsetto vocal, no wonder this one is their first single. It is an excellent track!



"All In A Day's Work" opens with two driving, powerfull verses before finally moving on to the sweetness of the chorus. It exits the scene of the crime again with a powerful outro.



"I Guess You're Right" opens with a driving bassline and an air-raid lead guitar. The lyrics sound like a "You don't know me like you think you do!" kiss off to someone who has criticized the song's character in the past, with maybe some small measure of sympathy for the miserable so and so, too. The instrumental break sounds almost like an army legion marching to the rescue.



"Anything and Everything"'s verses are built on a space-age Jimmy Page/Zeppelin-worthy riff. It builds to a majestic, dreamy chorus. The album's title: "Every Kind of Light" is also drawn from this song's lyrics. This song has a kind of hypnotic, trance-like quality about it.



"Second Time Around" begins with keyboards that sound kind of like my image of a morning sun rising, on a clear and beautiful new day. Then as soon as it gets started good, it mutates into a loud, punky action-movie theme. Structurally, the song reminds me of some of the excellent Hard Rock/Pop singles that 38-SPECIAL used to do so well. Even though I used the word punky to describe the attitude of this song, this song also posesses some very orchestral almost faux classical instrumental passages. May sound odd, but it works out very well!



"Last Crawl" heartbeats into existence as a gentle, tropical sounding ballad with a cool, mellow vibe. You can almost see Jon Auer sitting on a lawn chair on the beach, having a few drinks, and playing this song accoustically. Very relaxed.



"Could He Treat You Better?" begins with sort of a clavinet sounding keyboard and a Blues bassline. The guitar work sounds like a wicked combination of B.B. King and Jimmy Page. Ken Stringfellow sings a lithe, soulful, high-range vocal that's almost equal parts Robert Plant and Smokey Robinson. Jon Auer's harmony vocal provides just the right amount of extra heat for the chorus/bridge?. This is the Bluesiest song that the POSIES have ever released, and they come through on it with flying colors. A very good job!



"Love Comes" begins with a cheerful Pop melody. It has a half spoken verse and a lively Pop chorus. It has a pretty keyboard solo that's sort of like a distant cousin to the keyboard solo in the BEATLES' "In My Life".



"I Finally Found A Jungle I Like!!!" chugs into life with BACHMAN-TURNER OVERDRIVE guitars and Keith Moon/Jody Stephens'-style drumming. It is a relentless, almost Rock-a-billy style Rocker. The outro give the impression that this space-age keyboard is running breathlessly through the jungle with bass, guitar, drums, and other jungle animals right on its' tail.



"That Don't Fly" is sort of reminiscent of Freddie Mercury's QUEEN ballads. The instrumental break has a quicker pace than the rest of the song. The lyrics seem to protest the war somewhat.



"Sweethearts of Rodeo Drive" lopes along gently, yet powerfully with a BEATLE-sque chorus, and an instrumental outro. The lyrics also seem to deal with social class, and the war, again.



Until "Every Kind of Light", I used to consider "Dear 23" to be the POSIES' best album, but now I give that honor to "Every Kind of Light".





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