The band was formed in 1986 in Bellingham, Washington, United States, by primary songwriters Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow.

Though intended as demos to attract other members and form a full band, the recordings became the Posies' first self-released album, Failure.

[1] Mike Musburger and Arthur "Rick" Roberts joined soon after, allowing the band to play its first live shows in Seattle and Bellingham.

[1] After completing what they thought was their new album with the title Eclipse, Geffen sent them back to the studio in the latter part of the year to record a few "hits".

Dave Fox joined to play bass for the last of the "Hit Sessions" and the name then changed to Frosting On The Beater and was released in April 1993.

The band returned to the studio with the intent of writing their last chapter by rerecording a dozen unused older songs.

Auer and Stringfellow reunited in early 2000 for a one-off acoustic show in Seattle, which was recorded and released as In Case You Didn't Feel Like Plugging In.

Upon returning from the tour, they filled 2001 with a mix of solo work and a handful of live Posies shows played in support of the Nice Cheekbones and a Ph.D. EP, which was recorded the previous year.

[citation needed] Also released in 2000 was a four-CD box set composed almost entirely of unreleased demos, outtakes, and live tracks from throughout the Posies' career, At Least, At Last.

The album was recorded and mixed in Spain and their hometown of Seattle, with stops in Ecuador, Canada, Paris and Los Angeles.

Drummer Frankie Siragusa, who also contributed to the engineering and mixing of the album, joined the band on tour, where they performed as a trio.

In 2018, The Posies reunited with the Frosting on the Beater lineup, with drummer Mike Musburger and bassist Dave Fox returning, for a tour of North America and Europe.

[10] Following the publication of the allegations, Jody Stephens, lone surviving member of Big Star, published a statement and removed Stringfellow from forthcoming tribute performances.