The Possibilities

Georgia-based country-skronk outfit the Possibilites (brothers Kevin & Matt Lane, and Bob Spires) have long bubbled under the surface in the realm of post-Tupelo alt-country. Their excellent 1995 self-released, cassette-only demo Scattered, Smothered, Covered and Chunked even managed to garner some airplay on old REV 105. Songs like "One to One," "Smellrose" and "Yeah" showcased a Southern-fried spirit and lyrical culpability not seen since Farrar and company O.D.'d on Anodyne and lit out for the lighter side of AOR radio. Their latest album, on Jack Logan's Backburner label, finds the trio several years older, several heartbreaks wiser and musically at the top of their game. "You Don't Mean It," the lead track, absolutely sweats sour beer and regret, and the sheer sonic power of "Genius" dissects and reassembles even the raw power of 1995's "Yeah." "Slow Draw" is a summer radio standard waiting to happen, and "Up Your Nose" could be the public service announcement theme song for this year's crop of one-hit wonders thinking about a visit to Hazelden. "Up your nose/That's where ya sunk ya money/And it's gone/At first on top of the world/Then down in a hole." This is an album that's going to sneak up on you — don't say you weren't given a distant early warning.