During the summer leg of the Posies' farewell tour, the Northwest power-popsters played some shows in Spain during which they recorded the live ALIVE BEFORE THE ICEBERG. The fact that the group made its way through the Iberian Peninsula and fell in love with the culture and its fans during past junkets resulted in a particularly powerful performance. Although missed notes and sloppy playing bubble up amidst churning guitars, killer harmonies, and yearning vocals, ICEBERG turns out to be a delightfully honest record blissfully free of any post-production tinkering.
Ripping through a set list primarily consisting of material from 1996's AMAZING DISGRACE and 1998's SUCCESS, (the Posies' final studio album), founders Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow both pour heaps of ragged emotion into their singing and playing. Among the highlights are a churning anthem of optimism ("Somehow Everything"), a punk-soaked tribute to Husker Du ("Grant Hart"), and a reconstructed Cheap Trick classic featuring the intro to "American Woman" ("Surrender"). Balancing out these energetic blasts are such tender ruminations as the harmony-soaked "You're the Beautiful One" and the gorgeous "Precious Moments." ALIVE is a bittersweet coda to a brilliant career.
