divad23's Full Review: Candycoatedwaterdrops by Plumb
You wouldn't expect most fans of the more sincere and artistic side of Christian rock music to get all excited over a band that was essentially prefabricated in the studio by its record label. Don't get me wrong - Essential Records is one of the best record labels as far as cutting edge Christian music goes (how could they not be with Jars of Clay, Third Day, and Caedmon's Call on their roster?) I was definitely interested when they signed Plumb in 1997 - but I soon found out that the whole project had started out as a solo album for lead singer Tiffany Arbuckle, and her band was basically made up of the session players she had in the studio. It turned out, however, that Tiffany's decision to keep the band full-time added a lot of depth to the band's music, turning a cheesy space-poppy solo project (probably something like Miss Angie) into a very full-sounding but vulnerable electronic/trip-hop/alternative rock band bearing similarities to Garbage. To make a long story short, their first album was a success. I didn't really know what to expect on their second album, however. Now that the band had actually had a chance to gel and get to know each other, what would they produce?
The answer to that question is, of course, candycoatedwaterdrops, a brilliant album which continues the moody feel of their first album but scales back some of the noisier aspects of it. I was put off by this new approach the first few times I listened to this CD - they can write some compelling ballads, but I wasn't ready for some of the lighter pop fare in between the ballads and blistering rockers Plumb was known for. There are definitely still some tracks that rock on this album, and some eerie slower tracks, and throughout most of it, the lyrical integrity of the first album has been maintained. What makes this album work despite its more prominent pop flavoring, though, is how it is all sewn together. As the album's title implies, there is a paradoxically sweet emptiness flowing through these songs.
Late Great Planet Earth leads the album off - a sure-fire rock hit in the vein of "Sobering" from their first album, but a little more restrained. It has a very cold and mechanical feel to it, and it fittingly starts off with a sort of countdown to an electronic chain reaction, signaling the impending doom that the song speaks of. It reminds me vaguely of something from either The Matrix or the remake of Godzilla, due to the way the drums stomp through it and the guitars methodically slice through the rest of the music. But here's something I didn't expect - the song is backed by an orchestra Seems everyone's trying it these days, and I didn't expect it to work with Plumb, but it really adds a lot to the song. This isn't a bright, happy orchestra - it's mournful, again signaling some sort of inherent danger. Of course, the song is about the end of the world and how no one can save themselves in the Christian worldview, but thankfully it's not all hellfire and brimstone like the end-times novel it was titled after. In a way, it seems to actually be poking fun at everyone's hysteria about the then-upcoming Y2K bug, stating that the world isn't necessarily end in some cataclysmic disaster like everyone expects it to.
Stranded follows immediately after the last "save yourself" - this song paints a sad romantic picture of two people who are afraid to be real with their feelings for each other. Having heard a demo of this song on the radio that was at once edgy and very beautiful, it really disappointed me to hear the final version and notice that some of that raw passion was lost to programmed drums and looped vocals. This is the version a lot of you have probably already heard - either on WoW 2000, or in the movie Drive Me Crazy, or of course on the radio (I think it got some mainstream airplay, even if I don't recall it being that huge on Christian radio). I still think it's a brilliant song, and the imagery of the tidal wave dragging the lonesome lovers out to sea is powerful. But Tiffany sounds too weary and restrained on this version, where on the demo, she sounded very urgent and emotional. Sometimes bands should learn when too much production is a bad thing, but if I didn't know the demo version existed, I probably would have no complaints, because I still love this song.
Here with Me bleeds in as "Stranded" falls silent - this is a more straightforward, scripture based song, but still very eloquent. It strikes a nice balance between the electronic keyboards and rhythms, and the real guitars and drums which kick in full power during the chorus. Throughout the song, it retains a very solid and singable tune as it explores how we can accomplish nothing apart from God. Obviously, this is the first signal of Plumb gravitating toward a more radio friendly Christian pop sound, but the song still has the necessary emotion and musical aggression to keep it from sounding as sterilized as a lot of the stuff you'd hear on Christian radio. The strings are once again present - I love how the song draws to a close on almost nothing but a bed of strings holding a tense note.
Lie Low sounds a little too bright and happy for its own good - it's a little startling to hear the poppy electronic noises and bright chords right at the beginning as Tiffany sings "You didn't care about me/So I packed my bags and left you to wonder/What you could have done better to make our love stronger". It's obviously a song about a relationship gone bad - Tiffany asserts that it was holding her down from experiencing life, and she couldn't live that way any more. It's not one of my favorites, but I still enjoy how the strings back it up (they're not as prominent as on tracks one and three, but still noticeable), and mostly, I appreciate that it sets itself apart from your normal breakup song by refusing to react out of bitterness or boredom. The couple didn't necessarily have a bad fight, and she didn't necessarily get the desire for someone new and decide to leave him out of nowhere. The relationship ended because one or both partners didn't make the effort to keep the love alive, and Tiffany makes it clear that she wants the best God has for her: "It could have been so good/But there was something else for me."
Phobic fades in on a slower programmed beat, which ends up dominating most of this song. It has an emptier sound than the previous tracks, but that's actually a good approach, because the focus of the song is a quiet word from God, telling us not to be afraid of Him when we fall. Some lovely piano chords keep the song from feeling flat, and some interesting scratchy sounds in the middle prove that turntables aren't only for use in rap and techno songs.
God-Shaped Hole, while a nice concept, is way too poppy for Plumb. It's no surprise that the song would come off as sounding a bit trite, given that it was co-written with Wayne Kirkpatrick, who has made a name for himself writing with Michael W. Smith but really doesn't belong in alternative rock territory. The chorus is a nice and very catchy, but how many times have we heard a song say something like "There's a God-shaped hole in all of us/and it's a void only He can fill"? It's almost exactly the same lyric from Audio Adrenaline's song of the same name from Some Kind of Zombie, but with catchier music. And of course, this song had to be the one that was all over Christian radio, despite Plumb having much more to offer. Go figure. I still like it; it's just not a fair representation of who Plumb really is.
Solace brings back an edgier rock sound, fading in with a buzzing guitar and some slightly muted complaints from Tiffany: "I'm sick, I'm tired/I can't sleep 'cause I'm so wired/I don't know if I can take this/I don't know how to love you." She definitely gets her aggressions out here, but not in a scary way - she just explains how she gets stressed and sometimes wants to tear down the entire structure of the life that is making her so darn busy. I think any working mother would relate to this one - so would any overburdened college student. So would just about anyone having to commute to work on Los Angeles freeways! In the end, the song offers that "solace", reminding us that we're never gonna find it if we look anywhere other than to God.
Worlds Collide: A Fairy Tale seems to follow up on the same relationship described in "Lie Low", but here we see another part of the picture - this was a relationship between two people with different beliefs, and faith came between them. I don't know if it's necessarily taking the hard-nosed position of "Don't date anyone other than Christians", but it is definitely making a statement that it's hard for a couple to connect when their religious beliefs are significantly different. On a musical level, the song is fairly straightforward, building off of a strong but simple drum beat, and including some nice syncopated keyboards in the background, as well as another fine guest appearance by the orchestra.
Damaged is another song which has enjoyed a little mainstream exposure, thanks to the movie Brokedown Palace. The song seems mostly electronically generated, with soft percussion, spooky but bubbly keyboards, and downright creepy noises in the background, giving the song a feel somewhere in between a haunted house and a role-playing video game. The subject matter is rather tough - it's written from the point of view of a girl who was abused by her father, finally gathering up the courage to explain how he made her feel. To me it seems a little vague at times, but I guess if you've been a victim of child abuse, it might be a little painful to detail everything word for word, and this more subtle approach leaves the song open to multiple interpretations. In any case, the song leaves an impression on the listener, with its haunting reminder "I can't go back... I must go on" repeating at the end.
Drugstore jesus is admittedly the least accessible track on the album, with a slow beat that alternates between 10/8 and 8/8, taking the listener a while to get the pattern down, but I think it's a brilliant song. It's a scathing indictment of a corrupt leader within the church who is only out to amass membership and gain material wealth by offering people a quick fix. (Hmmm... sounds like somebody's been watching TBN!) As I've mentioned in other reviews, it takes guts for a Christian band to put something like this on record, knowing that some of their audience may be caught up in the world of feel-good Christianity, and here comes Plumb, tearing it down and exposing the fakes for who they really are. The song makes excellent use of the orchestra, including a bittersweet flute solo and a majestic ending as the rest of the music fades out, and the orchestra is left on its own, playing a turbulent soundtrack that would work well in a stormy sea type of setting. Look carefully - that's a lower-case "j" in the title for a very good reason (no, it's not a typo!)
candycoatedwaterdrops closes things out on a slow note (it did bother me at first that the tempo lagged during the last three tracks, but I love most of these songs now, so it doesn't matter any more). It takes on a slightly jazzy persona due to its 6/8 tempo and light drumming, though the guitars have a distinctly country twang to them. Tiffany's vocals on this song are quite compelling, reminding me of Sarah McLachlan. Here the album's theme comes to the forefront, tying many of the songs together as she laments the emptiness that most Christians call their faith and pass along to other people, leaving them with no real defense against messy real-life problems, much less a reason to retain their flimsy faith. She even ties in to the theme of the first song as she sings, "If the world stopped spinning/If the end was beginning/Would you even notice that I wasn't there?", and as the song fades out, resolution is brought to all of the emptiness as a small child sings "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" (yes, little kids can be annoying on rock albums, but here, it works).
I recommend spinning this CD at least three times before passing a judgment. Some of the songs don't grab you as immediately as the songs on the band's first album, but as you begin to take in the meaning of each song, you'll see it all coming together, which will make you want to listen more carefully to the songs you may have overlooked. If you've never heard of Plumb before, I recommend this album to anyone who ever wished that Dido or Sarah McLachlan had a fuller, rockier sound, or who wished that girl-fronted rock bands didn't always have to sound so girly or melodramatic. However, if you're looking for something more aggressive and moody in the way of female fronted Christian rock bands, I'd recommend Aleixa.
TRACK REVIEW SUMMARY Excellent: Here with Me, Late Great Planet Earth, Solace, Drugstore jesus
Good: Stranded, Phobic, Worlds Collide: A Fairy Tale, Damaged, candycoatedwaterdrops
Decent: Lie Low, God-Shaped Hole
Weak: NONE
Skippable: NONE
Band Members:
Tiffany Arbuckle (Lee): Lead vocals
Joe Porter: Drums
B.J. Aberle: Bass
Thad Beaty: Guitars
Matt Stanfield: Piano, synths, programming
(This is in addition to a number of studio players, since according to Plumb's website, Tiffany is Plumb, a girl who takes her band with her wherever she goes.)
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