This time around the Posies even get a little help from Trick's Robin Zander and Rick Nielson, who turn up on the barbed and bristling "Hate Song." It's a tougher, grittier take on pop that's more in keeping with the Posies' live shows. Gone are the twee tendencies of 1993's Frosting on the Beater (DGC). Everything here, from the harmony-laden power ballad "Precious Moment" to the pissed-and-dissed "Everybody Is a Fucking Liar," is spiked with a liberating dose of raucous rock. When Auer and Stringfellow single out one of pop's unsung heroes in "Grant Hart," a two-minute blast of tuneful catharsis that's eerily reminiscent of something Hart might have written when he was drumming for Hüsker Dü a decade ago, the Posies almost sound punk. But buried in the tune's crumbling wall of melodic guitars is a subtle reminder that Hüsker Dü shared more than a fondness for umlauts with Blue Öyster Cult. Not bad for a silly little pop song.

-- Matt Ashare