Written by: Alex Green

The Posies’ new album has been recorded.

The only problem?

It doesn’t have a cover.

Yet.

One of the most beloved indie pop bands of the last thirty years, The Posies are ready to release their 8th studio album Solid States this Spring. Offering their fans a unique chance to design the album’s cover (and get $500 in the process), the band has put a call out for original artwork.

Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer, who formed the Posies in 1987, issued this statement about the contest:

We are making our 8th album, which for us represents major changes in our lives from the recovery of the loss of our drummer, Darius Minwalla, who passed away last year, to major musical reinventions of our sound and style. The album Solid States encapsulates an irony. In fact, we acknowledge that nothing is solid; everything is fluid, exploding, falling apart, recombining and that is the true nature of life. As much as we try and hold on to things, they change. And getting comfortable with this concept is the source of a lot of anxiety for most people (including us). 

Our ideas for the cover concept are that it’s very scientific (solid being one of the states of matter). We envision a little bit of the above mentioned anxiety coming thru in an abstract drawing. Something frenetic and frantic, but also mathematical. We imagine the lettering for the band/ title would be several layers, like an exploded drawing. 

Yes: Pencil, pen & ink, precise, scientific, hand made but controlled. Computerized art is OK too, but there needs to be a human aspect to it. Not *too* cold. 

No: Photographs. We’re looking to avoid anything “retro” as well.

– Ken and Jon

The band also offered these specs for the cover:

The contest closes February 10.

More information here: