Posse

In Seattle the indie rock trio Posse originated when Paul Wittman-Todd and Sacha Maxim struck up a music-driven friendship after encountering each other in a bar in 2010. They assembled the group and recruited Jon Salzman, who had previously performed in Maxim’s projects, to handle drums. The name came from the opening act on the 1990s Nickelodeon series Weinerville. Their self-titled debut arrived in 2012, drawing on 1990s alternative rock and the mixed-gender vocal interplay associated with Yo La Tengo, while later that year they issued the Smog covers EP Some Dongs.

All three kept their regular jobs from the start, treating those positions as equal in importance to the band. Each had attended university in Washington State, where Wittman-Todd trained as an electrical engineer, Maxim as a graphic designer, and Salzman as a therapist for autistic children.

Nevertheless they completed their second album, Soft Opening, entirely on their own terms, tracking it in the basement of Maxim’s house and using her artwork for the cover. Released in 2014, it became the first title on their self-founded Beating a Dead Horse label. Career schedules confined touring to a few Seattle dates, yet major online outlets covered the record and thereby broadened the group’s reach. After that visibility the band stayed quiet for several years, leading some to assume a breakup, until the 2016 7-inch “Perfect H” appeared. The following year brought the single “Kismet,” and in November 2017 they made the six-track Horse Blanket available as a free download, declaring it their final release and offering fans a companion comic.