Author's Note: This review was originally written based on a downloaded pre-release of this album, right before its release date was pushed back. I have now acquired a legal copy of the album, and with the exception of two bonus tracks, the audio is exactly the same as what I originally reviewed.

Plumb, a.k.a. Tiffany Lee, seems to be one of those artists who is undergoing an identity crisis. Over the course of eight years, she's vacillated back and forth between teen-friendly pop and darker, edgier, sometimes almost Gothic or industrial rock. She's been through several revolving-door band members before finally deciding to bill herself as a solo artist. And she's gone back and forth over whether she's interested in writing songs that cater to a Christian audience. I don't say any of this to criticize Plumb, because I've enjoyed all three of her albums thus far... but it makes for interesting and occasionally frustrating listening. After 1997's self-titled record, arguably her darkest and edgiest, some of her fans grew a bit jaded when she took a glossier, poppier turn on 1999's candycoatedwaterdrops and especially 2003's mainstream label debut, Beautiful Lumps of Coal. Personally, I enjoyed all three records, but after the mixed results on her last record, I kind of expected diminishing returns from her latest album, Chaotic Resolve.

Originally due out in August 2005, and then pushed back to September for unknown reasons, it seemed that the new album wasn't terribly promising, because the label was uneasy about even releasing it. Still, I managed to catch the first single, "I Can't Do This", on Christian radio (which I rarely ever listen to any more) during a vacation, and while it was a bit cliché, I was reasonably encouraged by it, and I liked the darker musical tone and re-introduction of electronic elements that were largely absent from the previous album. I told myself I'd give the album a shot when it came out in September, only to return from my trip and discover that it had been pushed back again to February 2006.

Surprisingly, Chaotic Resolve is turning out to be one of my favorite records of the year. Thematically and musically, it revisits each of Plumb's previous forms, ranging from lighthearted love songs to dark, moody rock songs that reach out to those who are abused and hopeless. The latter theme has always been close to Plumb's heart, with an "abuse song" or two surfacing on each album, but here, the theme of psychological abuse permeates the entire middle section of the record, resulting in some of the most interesting music Plumb has ever made. Bookending the darker core is a bit of lighter fare, which admittedly gives the album a bit of a schizophrenic feel. Two love songs, sugarcoated way past the level of necessity for a modern rock album, show up early on, along with the aforementioned single tailor-made for Christian radio. Later on there's a spunky dance tune, a quiet ballad or two (though those maintain the darker lyrical perspective), and a fairly normal pop tune to close things out. It can be a bit jarring, and that might be the reason for delaying the album - the theming and sequencing of the songs seems to be a bit askew. Still, what we've got here is a strong collection of 12 tracks, with far more pros than cons. Plumb has yet to create a perfectly cohesive album with no dud tracks, but for solid pop/rock listening, Chaotic Resolve is shaping up to be one of the best of 2005... er, 2006.

Blush (Only You)
When stars are falling dark, we'll light the way
We'll hit the ground and fall into the shade
I'll light the night with fire and run away...
See, I don't have a problem with Plumb writing love songs. She had some pretty decent breakup songs on candycoatedwaterdrops, so it was natural to explore the positive side of the coin when she got married. But placed as the first track on an album, this pedestrian tune is certainly a reticular way to start things off. Plumb has always started off with a strong rocker - see "Sobering (Don't Turn Around)", "Late Great Planet Earth", and "Free". This one, with its unassuming acoustic guitar strum, relaxed beat, and inane chorus of "I want to be in love with you", just doesn't do her any favors by comparison. It's not horrible, it's just a mite sluggish and kind of expresses wishes that you'd think would be already granted for a married woman. This kind of stuff belongs on Amy Grant albums, not Plumb albums, because it's too normal. Moving on.

I Can't Do This
I woke up late, guess I'm never really early
I hesitate, only to fail
I get so tired of procrastinating
I need a change...
The darker buzz of this song's guitar intro is a signal of things to come on this album. It's not totally harsh and heavy, but there's definitely more weight and weariness to this tune, as the programmed rhythm helps to bring back more of the electro-alternative tones of early Plumb (even if the percussion will likely never be as interesting as it was on her first record). The song is a fairly basic cry out to God for help (and probably the most explicitly religious track on the record, given its direct mention of God by name), which makes it a great choice for Christian radio even if the chorus is a bit repetitive and formulaic. It's basically the desperation inherent in the melody and the way she sings that makes this one a keeper. I like how the bridge is basically God's response to her admission of weakness: "Press into Me, breathe in deep." Some have criticized this song for being an Evanescence ripoff with a more clear Christian theme. I can certainly see a label's temptation to take Plumb in that direction, but let's not forget that Plumb has been fooling around with the dark and very vaguely Gothic pop/rock sound for much longer than Evanescence has... when I first reviewed Fallen, I was strongly reminded of Plumb. Still, I'll admit that the flourish of strings at the end is strongly reminiscent of "Whisper", sans the creepy Latin vocals, of course. (Note: Since the original writing of this review, I've discovered that Amy Lee from Evanescence has actually cited Plumb as an influence. Interesting.)

Real Life Fairytale
I thought that I would be alone
You caught my eye and I was home
And I realized that this was love...
Ready for sappy love song #2? Yeah, me neither. But here it is. This one really overstays its welcome and the lyrics are positively barf-inducing, not to mention schizophrenic in the context of what follows. But I'll admit, it's got a lightly catchy rhythm and melody, in that "I caught a snippet of it in a commercial for a WB drama and now I can't get it out of my head" sort of way. And at least she's singing in the more expected context of someone who has already found love this time around. I'm not sure what Plumb was trying to accomplish with this one - it sounds like it wants to be an unabashed pop single, but there's just too much lyrical baggage in terms of a long chorus and a 5-minute running time for this one to really fly on the radio.

Better
Face to face, you're so sweet
Like candy sticking to my teeth
But underneath, so damaging...
The faint, looping piano intro brings back the darker mood, on a track that I think resembles Evanescence a lot more closely than "I Can't Do This". It's not so apparent from the mostly keyboard-and-beat driven verses, but the bitter tone as Plumb sets an abusive person straight sounds an awful lot like something that Amy Lee might spew forth (just less operatic). The sweeping, cinematic, guitar-heavy chorus is where the comparison really hits home, though, but it's here that the lyrics put a positive spin on the suffering, as Tiffany does her best to resist giving in and allowing herself to hate this person. "When you're afraid, you lash out in blame, and you say all the things you never meant to say", she sings, and it's a keen observation on how this person's mistreating of her is really a dead giveaway for his own insecurity. Tiffany knows that she can learn something from this - "In the end, what leaves you broken makes you better." It's a mature take on a darker theme, and it signals a thematic turn into a much stronger section of the record.

Manic
She loves you, and hates you
You break down, she feels good
She will bleed of insecurity
When will she heal?
I love her still...
Now, let's not forget that before Plumb was influenced by Evanescence, she was influenced by Garbage. I kind of missed that influence on Beautiful Lumps of Coal, so it's good to see it reappearing here in a subtle way as this dance/rock tune takes on the breezy but moody tone of a poppier Garbage tune such as "Special". The bubbling synths running underneath the verses are especially lovely, allowing a more solid rhythm to take the forefront for the fast-paced chorus. Here, Tiffany is observing an abusive relationship from the outside, noting how the unpredictable tendencies of a manic depressive woman "pouring sunshine and rage" tear apart the man who loves her. (Though it could be the man inflicting the damage - the "you" kind of changes around and I'm not sure who she's talking to.) It's the little touches that really make this one stand out - the way Tiffany's voice echoes "Manic, manic, manic" in the background every now and then, the syncopated rhythm, the little touches of piano. It's the first track on the record that I can say I'm totally in love with. (There are at least three more of those.)

Cut
I may seem crazy, or painfully shy
And these scars wouldn't be so hidden
If you would just look me in the eye...
For the album's heart-wrenching, stripped-down ballad, Plumb thankfully doesn't completely shed the electronics that have worked so well for the past few songs. The basis of this sad tune is piano, which provides a light, but mournful melody while starry synths creep about underneath it. It's a magical haze over which Plumb sings from the point of view of a troubled and desperate girl who cuts herself just to make sure she can still feel. It's the kind of song that you have to write carefully for it to be believable, and Plumb more than succeeds, acknowledging in the highly emotional bridge that "I am not alone", but still not copping out by wrapping it up with a neat little solution. In the end, she still feels that "Relief exists, I find it when I am cut". She knows that what she is doing is killing her, and she cries out "I don't want to die" in one of the verses, so it's easy to feel the inner conflict that she is going through. The way several lines of lyrics echo off into the darkness also add to the girl's feeling of isolation. This one makes an interesting counterpoint to Evanescence's "Tourniquet", and it might just be Plumb's best ballad so far.

Bittersweet
You need to feel forgiveness
I need to feel resentment running down the drain
This bruising chain I've carried
Is the pain that I am burying today...
A latticework of skittering and slithering electronic rhythms starts off the second half of the record, as a little light is let in by Plumb tackling the topic of forgiveness. While she doesn't get off to the greatest start with the eye-roll-inducing line, "I've been carrying this old luggage, and it's been really buggin' me", she redeems herself easily with another strong melody and the admission that she needs to let go of resentment for whatever's been done to her, but it sure isn't easy. The chorus brings a strong sensation of relief just beginning to break through as she signs about grace permeating her skin, and the refreshing feeling of finally letting go of the unnamed offense. I might have to take a few points off for repetition of the chorus without a real bridge to break things up near the end, but that's easily made up for by the sweeping, cinematic strings that float about in between each line of the chorus, and that reach a wonderful crescendo at the end, akin to the highly emotional orchestral fadeout that finished off "Drugstore jesus" on candycoatedwaterdrops.

Good Behavior
I was frozen in a fragile world of make believe and empty lies
Twisting the rules of a virtuous game...
Plumb returns to tackling a more specifically religious topic here, though you could say that this still ties into the theme of abuse that runs through the middle portion of the record. A pretty, synthesized opening gives no warning that a rousing, harsh guitar riff is about to take over your speakers - this is definitely the heaviest track on the record, and it's one where Plumb gets to unleash some righteous anger at perfectionism and legalism within the church. Over an extremely danceable beat, she sings about an exclusive society where she's forced to pretend she's someone that she's not and hide any hint of her sins, and she cries "I want out now!" Her conclusion in the chorus is that "Perfect only makes you crazy, there is no way that it can save me." True peace will only really come for a Christian when they admit they can't achieve sinlessness; they have to depend on grace, and this ties in nicely with the previous song, where Plumb herself is learning to extend grace to others. Here, she needs to be on the receiving end, and as the song storms along to its abrupt ending, you can tell that not a whole lot of it is being handed out. Sad, but true for much of the modern American Church.

Motion
You're so illuminated, your heat could melt the world
You're so wrapped up in plastic, you nip and tuck and twirl
Do I make you feel uneasy, do I break your stupid rules
'Cause I do not fit your ideal of a beautiful girl?
OK, time for a shamelessly fun dance song! I was a bit surprised; I can't recall the last time Plumb ever did something so free-spirited and all-around smile-inducing. While the sound of a cheering audience at the beginning and end of the song make for awkward transitioning from and to the surrounding tracks (perhaps a problem that will be resolved on the final release), the rest of it is pure sonic gold, taking a catchy drum roll and some blurting horns, as if announcing the entry of royalty, and then getting the audience jumping with an insistently bouncy guitar riff and a fast techno-ish beat. The attitude here is part Garbage, part Gwen Stefani, but thankfully there's no business involving bananas or fecal matter. It's just a highly danceable tune about not knowing how to dance. Gotta love those! Tiffany has a lot of sass in this one, telling off a guy who is giving her strange looks on the dance floor because she doesn't dress or act like his "ideal of a beautiful girl", and because she doesn't know all the right moves to seduce a guy, but she just wants to let loose and dance with him anyway. I'm not much of a dancer myself, but if I heard this one at a party, I can guarantee it would get me moving in all of my uncoordinated-white-boy-ness. The insistent smile-inducing chorus will just stick in your head for hours.

I Have Nothing
Well, catch me when I'm falling
Into a strange, elusive state
And kick me when I'm stingy
Take everything away...
I've heard Plumb say that she won't ever go back and do the trip-hop-rock thing that characterized early songs like "Crazy", but rhythm-wise, I think this song and "Crazy" have an awful lot in common. Most obviously, there's the melding of harsh guitars and electronic dance elements (which make so much of this album a winner), and there's the beat, which seems to be 4/4, but cuts itself off after half a measure, not making it all the way to a full 8. That initially disorienting rhythm is what made the chorus of "Crazy" have such a weirdly addictive hook, and I can't help but hear the very same thing when Tiffany gets to the call-and-response of the chorus. The song is about a fairly simple theme often explored in Christian music - how nothing in the world is really ours and it's foolish to hold to it too tightly. I've observed that Tiffany seems to like using the word "naked" when describing her vulnerability in front of others - it came up in "Real" on the last album, and as paraphrased from the book of Job, it shows up here. The song continues its off-kilter bounce, briefly shifting gears for a "normal" bridge before jumping back into its jolting chorus, and then it wraps up neatly in about three minutes.

Jekyll & Hyde
Well, it's not easy for me to be
Somebody different, somebody else but me
But you're the actor, the extraordinaire
You make it seem like I'm the crazy one here...
The other ballad on the project is a bit less gripping than "Cut", but it hearkens back to older tunes like "Pennyless" and "Damaged" with its reliance on synthesized piano and not a whole lot else. The verse melody almost seems like a shiver set to music, as Tiffany describes a rather unsavory, two-faced individual who just gets under her skin. As she did in "Better", she's trying to learn how to love the person instead of just telling them to take a hike, but it's not easy - she compares her experience of being around the person to that of inhaling second-hand smoke. Ouch. She hits some more pristine high notes in the chorus, and it's a relative moment of calm on this album, since the song has no noticeable percussion and it kind of drifts off into the ether at the end. It might transition a bit awkwardly out of "I Have Nothing", but it's an interestingly written tune properly placed near the end of the album.

Sleep
Now I feel so light
A sense of movement slowed, and somehow my tongue's tied
My thoughts are shattered, and they're making stars in the sky
And I've never felt so speechless in my life...
Plumb chooses to the end the album with a more relaxed pop/rock tune, something closer to radio-single-land, but again probably too long to ever get taken seriously in that format. A gentler electric guitar riff repeats as a medium-paced beat gets going - the melody is more soothing here since Plumb has reached the end of the day and she wants to communicate a need to kick back and let it all go even if all of the problems haven't been resolved. She empathizes with weary listeners when she asks if we've ever had one of those days, and she kind of takes on the voice of God by telling us it's OK and we just need to get some shut-eye and joy will come in the morning. Not a terribly profound song, but still a good reminder for people like me who stress out a lot and can't seem to turn their brains off at the end of the day. Again, we get some strings that close out the song, this time doing more of the pretty, fantasy-type thing, but it's not a bad way to end the album.

Damaged (Redemption Extended Version
There's mending for my soul
An ending to this fear
Forgiveness for a man who was stronger
I was just a little girl, but I can't go back...
Now this was an interesting choice for a bonus track. For some unknown reason, Plumb took one of the more haunting tracks from candycoatedwaterdrops and re-recorded it, keeping a lot of the quiet scratching and eerie background audience, but adding a touch more realism to the percussion and the bubbling synths that characterize the song. It's a difficult song about child abuse, from the point of view of the child, now an adult, who still has trouble going back and fully forgiving the perpetraitor. Rather than just stating the situation and then trailing off as the original does, Plumb extends the song, bringing in electric guitars for a slightly more rock-oriented coda in which she encourages this damaged woman that there is healing and that God loves her. While it amounts to a whole lot of cliches phrases being thrown out, the emotion is genuine.

Pray for Me
Here is where the road divides
Here is where we realize
The sculpting of the Father's grand design...
Ah, the old "let's take the latest compilation track and tack it onto the end" trick. "Pray for Me" was an oddball inclusion on Ultimate Music Makeover: The Songs of Michael W. Smith, which came out last year - its drill-and-bass approach to what used to be a sentimental ballad stuck out like a sore thumb, but in its own insensitive way, the hyper-driven musical arrangement was mildly amusing. It works less well as a closing track here, but I suppose it's something Plumb fans would be curious about, so no harm in having it around as a bonus. It'll really tick off Michael W. Smith fans who were originally attached to the song, though.

Despite the inconsistency of Chaotic Resolve as a listening experience, it's still an album that I was very eager to run out and buy once it was made commercially available in the same form that I came to know it as a pre-release (track order, mixing and all - nothing about the original 12 songs was changed). I just hope that the record label, having finally released it, continues to promote its potential singles (releasing "Cut" was a gutsy move, though I've heard it's been remixed because apparently songs without percussion can't be played on the radio?) and show that they believe in Plumb as a long-term viable artist. Because doing otherwise would just be plumb crazy.

ALBUM WORTH:
Blush (Only You) $.50
I Can't Do This $1.50
Real Life Fairytale $.50
Better $1.50
Manic $2
Cut $2
Bittersweet $1.50
Good Behavior $2
Motion $2
I Have Nothing $1
Jekyll & Hyde $1
Sleep $1
Damaged (Redemption Extended Version) $1
Pray for Me $.50
TOTAL: $18

Websites:
http://www.plumbinfo.com
http://www.myspace.com/plumb

Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Driving