Crosscut Tout: The Posies at the Crocodile

The Posies will play the entirety of their 1993 album "Frosting on the Beater," which made a teenager fall in love with record albums.
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The Posies will play the entirety of their 1993 album "Frosting on the Beater," which made a teenager fall in love with record albums.

As a music critic it's tough for me to say an album is perfect. This is not because I consider my tastes more refined than the average Joe; it's because I consume so much music that it's difficult to justify labeling a piece of art perfect. However, this doesn't mean the perfect album doesn't exist. In fact, before I became a music critic I spent my teenage years falling in love with what I considered to be the perfect album: "Frosting on the Beater" by Seattle's own The Posies.

From the crunchy opening of "Dream All Day" to the beautiful and soft notes of album closer "Coming Right Along," this 1993 album is power pop-rock perfection. The harmonies of Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow, the band's two principal players, combined with the emotional heft of the music made my musical teenage heart flutter. It's near impossible to not love the near seven minutes of wonderment that is "Burn & Shine" or smirk while singing along to the tongue-in-cheek ode to grunge that is "Flavor of the Month."

"Frosting" is the record that made me fall in love with albums, not just songs, which is why I'll be singing my heart out at the Crocodile Saturday when The Posies perform "Frosting on the Beater" in its entirety. The set will also include material from the rest of the band's career (which will hopefully include a huge helping of songs off "Dear 23" and "Amazing Disgrace") along with a few new songs the band is set to put on a record to be released in 2010.

A new Posies record later this year? I think I just felt my teenage self fall in love all over again.

The Posies, at the Crocodile Cafe, 2200 2nd Ave. (Belltown), 9 pm Saturday (April 17), $20 (sold out).   

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