Posies Collaborate With Broken Social Scene and the Stranglers Members on New Album

Northwest power-pop favorites the Posies solicited help from a pair of unlikely sources for 'Blood/Candy', their upcoming seventh studio album. The influential band -- steered by creative principals Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow -- brought in Lisa Lobsinger of Broken Social Scene and former Stranglers vocalist Hugh Cornwell for the disc, which drops on Sept. 27.

"It is kind of a first for us," Stringfellow told Clash Music of the collaborations. "It's a really cool spread of artists from different generations though, so it's very versatile." Lobsinger appears on 'Licenses to Hide' while Cornwell helps out on the album's first track, 'Plastic Paperbacks.'

Lobsinger's connection to the band comes via drummer Darius Minwalla, a friend of the Canadian chanteuse. "We hung out and had some wine at this festival in Seattle and it went from there," Stringfellow said. "She has a very pure voice and for me the track she appears on with me is very bombastic and over the top in a wonderfully melodic way, a bit like a Broadway song."

As for Cornwell's effort, Stringfellow revealed it reminds him of some of the tunes by that revered UK punk outfit. "He speaks the words and I thought that'd be perfect for this song," he said. "It's just so cool, as soon as he starts speaking, he goes, 'hard man' in that weird way."

In support of 'Blood/Candy', the Posies have plotted a month-long trek through Europe that begins in Murcia, Spain on Sept. 28 and wraps on Oct. 26 in Finland. According to the band's official website, a North American tour will follow in November, although dates are still being finalized.