The Posies began making music in the 80's and have been fairly prolific in their rather long careers. After a somewhat surprising breakup back in 1998 and after several lineup changes and close to half a dozen studio albums, not to mention plenty of singles, b-sides, compilation and soundtrack contributions, Every Kind of Light marks The Posies 21st century debut after a six-year absence, and they're no worse for the wear. Every Kind of Light is soaked with studio production, and is, consequentially, one of the most "produced" albums in their catalog, which may or may not sit well with some long-time fans. However, it's interesting to note that the whole album was written in-studio and all the basic tracks were cut in a three-week period. Every Kind of Light cranks up the amps a notch on tracks like "All In a Day's Work" and "Second Time Around", and even has a bit of a classic rock feel on some of the tracks, especially "I Finally Found a Jungle I like!!!" Mostly, though, The Posies stick with the sound they've made a career out of, which includes jangly, hook-laden pop anthems with an indie flare. Absent is much of the vocal interplay between vocalists Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer that we heard on previous efforts, especially on many a fan's favorite Dear 23. While this isn't quite Dear 23 part two, it holds it's own, and finds the band expanding their sound, which would seem a natural thing to do after being away for so long. Every Kind of Light is a "grower"; after repeated listens different elements start creeping out of the shadows, introducing themselves to you like the brother you never had, and some things like the brother you wished you never had.
Long-time fans of The Posies should find something to love here, with a lot of tracks having that "love at first listen" feel, and a few tracks that should be fed from a distance with a slingshot in a dark, cold basement and basically left for dead. Every Kind of Light may not go into history books as the best Posies album ever made, but should scratch the itch that fans have had since 1998's ironically titled Success.
