Power pop masterminds The Posies will celebrate their 30th anniversary this year by teaming up with Omnivore Recordings and PledgeMusic for reissues of three albums recorded for DGC Records in the mid-'90s.
Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow, the core members of the group, released the first Posies album, Failure, in 1988. (That self-released title was reissued by Omnivore in 2014.) Signing to Geffen's rock subsidiary in 1990 (where they'd count Nirvana and Weezer as labelmates), the group's harmony-rich tunes earned critical plaudits and more than a few comparisons to Big Star (a fact not lost on Alex Chilton, who recruited Auer and Stringfellow to join him and Jody Stephens as part of a new lineup of the band that same decade.) "Golden Blunders" and "Dream All Day" became sizable modern rock hits, and albums Dear 23 (1990), Frosting on the Beater (1993) and Amazing Disgrace (1996) became, as the band themselves wrote, "our most popular, most often cited, most requested works," which keep the band's fan base hungry for new albums and tours to this day.
In that spirit, Auer, Stringfellow and Omnivore will join forces this year to reissue those three albums both on CD and LP! All three CD versions will be double-disc sets featuring rare and unreleased material on each disc alongside the remastered albums; the band promises bonuses beyond even At Least, At Last, their long out-of-print 2003 box set. The original albums, largely unavailable on vinyl since their original pressings (save for a 2012 reissue of Dear 23 from Music On Vinyl), will be repressed as double-vinyl editions, with Dear 23 and Frosting on the Beater mastered at 45 RPM and Amazing Disgrace mastered at 33 1/3 RPM.
Understanding the cost of licensing these titles from Universal Music Group and eager to do something special for their 30th anniversary year (beyond their two planned tours: a series of duo dates in January in February followed by a reunion of the Frosting-era lineup later this year), the group and the label are joining forces with PledgeMusic to offer fans these reissues as well as access to the creative process and one-of-a-kind additional items on sale. In addition to pre-orders of the albums, you can get anything from signed items and exclusive merch bundles to house concerts and music lessons via Skype - even the chance to spend a day with Jon and Ken in Paris!
Head to The Posies' PledgeMusic page to pre-order your music, and keep it tuned to The Second Disc for more info on the reissues as they become available.
John Mason says
Frosting on the Beater indeed!
Steve Bruun says
Very psyched for this! I'm seeing them on their upcoming duo tour and I've only been to one of their previous shows, more than 12 years ago. The Posies are definitely one of those acts that deserved to be bigger than they were. (Ken and Jon have both put out some strong solo records too.)