Plumb is an excellent band with a feel-good sound. They are filed under "Christian music," but some of their lyrics can be interpreted as non religious, so non-christians (like me) can enjoy the music and lyrics just as well. Beautiful female vocals, excellent instrumentation, and a modern pop feel give Plumb that extra something special.

My favorite song is "Damaged," which was introduced to me by a fellow Napsterian after introducing him to Red House Painters. Download a tidbit and take a listen!

Also, don't miss out on reading the review below by Neil Bogdanoff (from Virtualurth.com). He is somehow able to put into words exactly what Plumb sounds like.

 

Mp3 Tidbits:

Damaged.mp3 - 1013K

Stranded.mp3 - 826K

Here With Me.mp3 - 623K

Albums:

Link to Info about Plumb at UBL.com

Review posted by a listener at epinions.com:

Candycoated Goodness

by: stinkins  (Sat Dec 25 '99)

Pros:  Tiffany Arbuckle's voice is AMAZING
Cons:  softer sound than first CD


Plumb's sophomore release, "Candycoatedwaterdrops," is an excellent follow-up to their debut self-titled CD. Tiffany Arbuckle, Plumb's lead singer, continues to showcase her excellent talent and voice. Backed by great guitar, keyboard, and drum riffs, this lends to another excellent CD. The opening track, "Late Great Planet Earth," shows off the harder sound that Plumb can create. They follow it up with a softer, ballad-like track entitled "Stranded." This rest of the CD continues in this manner and showcases Plumb's talent to create both hard music, and softer styles. I also had the priviledge of seeing Plumb open for Jars of Clay in 1997, and they are excellent there too. Overall, another excellent performance by Plumb, and I'm sure there will be more to follow.

Best Tracks:
"Late Great Planet Earth"
"Stranded"
"Drugstore Jesus"


Recommend to other potential buyers? Yes

Review from Virtualurth.com

http://www.virtualurth.com/music/plumb.html

Reviewed by Neil Bogdanoff

Let me begin by saying that it is an unusual experience for me to come across new music where when I am listening to a CD I remain interested from beginning to end. There are generally one of five things that happen for me. First, I won't like any of the music at all. Second, I will like a few songs on the disc, and not the rest. Third, I don't like the music at all, and even after trying multiple listens it never grows on me. Fourth, I listen to a CD one time and I instantly like it. Or fifth, I like one or two songs, or maybe no songs, but after five or six listens I begin to really get into the music, or at least see the value of the music that exists. Some of the music which I consider to rank the highest as my personal favorites are a result of the fifth experience. Generally speaking, again, it is my personal belief that music must be listened to multiple times before one can even begin to understand what is being listened to.

My experience with listening to PLUMB seems to be represented through almost a hybrid of these categories. From the first time I listened to this disc, through about the tenth time I listened to it, I found myself feeling quite refreshed. While there style seems to be rooted in a B-52/Pretenders' type of style, somewhat crossed with the style of newer band Space Hog, PLUMB's approach to music has a truly honest feel to it (not that those other bands didn't).

The music of PLUMB certainly has its roots originating from a variety of styles. The band successfully balances a flowing, consistent sound with hard edges, blended into a well-rounded sound that encompasses styles of hypnotic and classic rock, to alternative pop, to jazz, to industrial, to a heavy metal/hip hop blend of rhythms and beats. The music is well-layered. From the lyrics based upon apparent personal, emotional experiences, to the seemingly familiar guitar riffs, I consistently found myself returning to the word or idea "honest." The sound produced by these five musicians is on a level of true honesty. While listening to this CD I never got the feeling that they were at any time hiding behind anything--sounds, masks, or attempts at overshadowing themselves which I find some contemporary bands to do (e.g. oasis).

One of the things that struck me the most were the melodies. The melodies have a truly original feel to them. The music as a whole is a seemingly simplistic rich blend of sometimes familiar, other times new sounds, written, played, and produced to reveal both individuality and a collective endeavor. While the music is well-layered, the band displays itself, again, through honesty. The end result--well-groomed, artistically presented material.

Now, while I have said quite a few good things about PLUMB, there was really just one thing that I found disturbing about this CD. While the overall production was done quite well, I couldn't help but to picture the band members minus the drummer playing along with a drum machine. The vocals of Arbuckle are pretty straight forward (again honest) remaining consistent, melodic and polished. The guitar of Leiveke has a well-developed and intelligent groove to it. The bass playing by Plasencio is there, soldering the diversity of sounds together, which are often set apart, as well as brought together by keyboardist Stanfield. But the drums of Porter sound just a bit too electronic for me. My personal prejudice is to listen to music that has the feel where you can imagine the musicians playing their instruments--picturing what they would be like if you were to see them playing in person. The vocals, guitar, bass, and even keyboards have a very natural sound. Stanfield certainly explores and provides the listener with a simplistic variety of warping, electronic sounds. But even these sounds seem to almost mimic what for me is natural. Nevertheless, I couldn't seem to get over the image of an old friend of mine tapping with his fingers on a pocket-size drum machine. Regardless of all this, the overall approach to the drumming was consistent with the individualistic approaches and sounds produced by the other musicians-- talented and technically polished--certainly fitting in with the overall collective approach. I guess I'll just have to give the CD a few more listens.

Copyright Neil Bogdanoff - (c) 1997

Plumb:

Tiffany Arbuckle-vocals
Stephen Leiveke-guitar
J.J. Plasencio-bass
Joe Porter-drums
Matt Stanfield-keyboards

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