The Fat Angel Sings

Originally released in 1988 on cassette, the debut album by Seattle power-poppers The Posies represents an important part of the Pacific Northwest music scene that wasn’t Sub-Pop or Grunge. “Failure” was a young sounding, yet very strong set of uber melodic pop songs that spiritually connected fans of Big Star, early R.E.M., The Replacements, Velvet Crush, and the Hollies. The band’s principals – Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow – went on to become members of Big Star – and while fans would make the case that The Posies’ major labels were better albums than “Failure”, it’s inspiring to hear the pop bliss of a band struggling to find their voices, as The Posies certainly did.