Ken Stringfellow

The former singer/guitarist/songwriter for The Posies, Ken Stringfellow, keeps that Seattle-based pop-rock combo’s melodic and lyrical inventiveness alive with this solo release, beautifully recorded by former REM producer Mitch Easter. Although often described as “Beatlesque,” Stringfellow’s songwriting chops actually display a wide-range of pop-rock influences, such that, finally, none of them truly matters: He has become his own best reference.

All of the tracks here are great, sparkling examples of catchy yet very thoughtful pop: “Sparrow,” particularly, with its chiming acoustic guitars and observation, “Once you have opened your heart to its church/ You find that this sparrow won’t come to its perch. …” With words like “faith,” “creation,” and so forth, the initially personal perspective of the song seems ultimately to posit a larger question: that of belief itself. Stringfellow manages to make such lyrical suggestiveness and depth seem almost effortless. No wonder Posies fans are so dedicated.

Space doesn’t permit more details, but all of the songs are equally terrific, including "This One’s on You," with its anthem-like melody and Argent-style Hammond, "Reveal Love" with its pretty falsetto disguising the manipulations of its narrator, and so on and on. Worth owning.