Posies at a 'Peak' With 'Blood/Candy'

The Posies formed outside of Seattle, just before the dawn of grunge, and made their name playing Beatles-like power-pop. In 1989, they signed with a major, toughened up their sound and, despite sounding nothing like Nirvana, embarked on a period of moderate commercial success. They scored a couple of MTV hits and released a string of acclaimed albums, including the 1993 classic 'Frosting on the Beater.'

In the late '90s, after returning to an indie label, frequently fighting co-founders Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer called it quits. They reunited in 2001 and have since dropped two Posies albums, the more recent of which, 'Blood/Candy,' came out this week. Despite busy schedules as solo artists and producers, they've continued to tour, and this fall, they're hitting cities across Europe and North America.

Taking stock of their two-decade-plus run, Auer and Stringfellow admit the Posies' story has been a strange one.

"We're really unusual in the sense we're this partnership that formed and made this agreement to be a partnership throughout our careers," Auer tells Spinner. "Then we destroyed that partnership, dissolved it and then we discovered it was worth continuing with -- and it was all organically. Someone described us as having a first act and a second act. I think we had a really good, credible first act, and now I think we're on the second act."

Asked if there are any bands the Posies might look to for guidance -- groups who have had similarly long, tumultuous careers and yet emerged respected elder statesmen -- Stringfellow struggles to think of any.

"I have to wonder," he says. "There are bands that were more successful than we are who had much better kind of lift-off momentum, so now that they're in between planets they can drift forever. There are bands that haven't been able to make it last even with a little more success than we had. So I don't know. I can't really think of very many bands that had the same trajectory, really. Everybody's story is a little different, so I don't know. Every band is kind of fluky, especially if they last a long time."

Auer takes pride in the idea the Posies cut their own path.

"It's a testament to the strength of what it is," Auer says. "I can't think of a band that has had that trajectory, that same way, if I think about it. It's a really amazing history looking back on it. It's something that can never be erased. It's always going to be there."

Although 'Blood/Candy,' originally intended as a straight-up rock record, took longer to record than he'd anticipated, Auer is pleased with the Posies' latest effort. In fact, he hopes the group will get back in the studio before too long.

"I couldn't always say I'd be happy to keep building on it, but I hope we keep going," he says. "I hope we do more -- especially after this last experience. I feel like now I'd just like to do another one as quickly as we can. After 20-plus years of playing together, that's pretty remarkable. Let's face it, long-term relationships have their ups and down, their peaks and valleys, and we're at a peak."