The Posies: Nice Cheekbones and a Ph.D. : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

File under: never say never and promises made to be broken. Seattle's finest power-pop export called it a day three years ago and in a moment of Who-like inspiration, Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow decided to reform as if they'd never been gone. In a reclining mode for this five-song EP -- while waiting for their dual drummers to acclimate to fatherhood (only the lead-off cut "Matinee" features a backbeat) -- the remaining trio explore their gentle, acoustic side. "Chainsmoking in the U.S.A." may cheekily reference Spinal Tap and a certain Motor City Madman, but it's still the bands eerie sense of hook and harmony that casts the Posies spell. An ace cover of the Byrds "Lady Friend" sits comfortably alongside the subdued madrigals ("With Those Eyes," "No Consolation") like folk-rock bedfellows. (ROB O'CONNOR)