The Posies can't quite seem to make up their minds as to whether they should break up or not. After announcing a formal split in 1998, the Seattle duo stayed remarkably active, touring, releasing live discs, even a box set. Now it's official: Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow have made their first proper studio album together since intended swan song, Success, and with good reason. "There's so many chords that haven't been played yet," they sing in the self-reverential "All In A Day's Work." Indeed, the time apart has made the Posies come back fiercer, louder and heavier, casting off the gentle acoustic guitars for furious power-pop melodies and vocals so commanding they almost sound overwrought. But the band hasn't forgotten how to conjure pure AM-radio bliss, radiating some vintage dreaminess with "Anything and Everything" and honey-dipped "Love Comes." --Aidin Vaziri