Plumb

Item: Beautiful Lumps of Coal
Author: Andree Farias

Beautiful Lumps of Coal

(2003)

Reviewed by Andree Farias

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Label Curb RecordsThe Rebel Base2003

alternative rock dance rock pop rock

At a day and age when the Avril Lavignes of the world reign supreme, Plumb resurfaces after nearly four years of hibernation with a new record deal and an album not unlike those of her ubiquitous contemporaries.

Just for starters, long time prior to the en-masse stampede and the trendy sitcom-pop triumvirate that is Michelle Branch, Vanessa Carlton, and Avril Lavigne, Plumb (a.k.a. Tiffany Arbuckle) was already making music for the young and the restless, that demographic who was too old to revel in teen pop's giddiness, mature enough to appreciate some depth in their music. Self-esteem, spiritual reassurance, and even real-life issues like alcoholism and molestation were some of the topics she tackled on both her previous releases, which she did with style and grace, balancing anthemic chick-rock, introspective alternative pop, and tender moments of whispery balladry.

On Lumps, the formula that worked so well in the past is repeated almost verbatim, rendering the been-there factor of her comeback dangerously high and yielding only mixed results. Whether you're listening to the attitude-laden "Free," the relationship-gone-awry premise of "Without You," or the romantic-but-not-really theme in "Hold Me," the lite pop-rock soundscape created by this disc gives you the feeling you're listening to the unofficial soundtrack of your younger sister's favorite WB show: catchy enough to make it on TV, but effortlessly forgotten the very second the Felicity credits finish rolling.

That's not to say the album's a lost cause; as a matter of fact, as a songwriter, Plumb is a total knockout and it's her writing abilities what ultimately salvage the disc from aural disaster. However, her full lyrical potential ultimately suffocates under the throng of producers, engineers, and co-writers "lending a hand" in the conception of the sound, which, consequently, comes across as a little too corporate.

Amidst the quasi attempts at rock, however, this project does have its moments. Early in the set, "Sink-n-Swim" speaks of the virtue of keeping your head up high after the storm and, melodically, is a perfect textbook example of how a commercial pop tune is written; later on, the delicately arranged "Nice, Naïve & Beautiful" provides encouragement to victims of abuse by reassuring them that "we're all dealt our lumps of coal," and it's what we choose to do with them what makes us beautiful. It's in this track that we get a not-too-shabby glimpse of what Plumb could accomplish were she to have a bigger say as to what's committed to tape, being that she both wrote and produced the song herself.

But that doesn't cut it. As evocative as the title Beautiful Lumps of Coal is, the album it's named after fails to engage listeners on an auditory level, and, though nice on paper, Plumb's lyrics suffer due to the homogeneity of the music behind them. Hopefully strenuous touring, a wider sense of artistic control from her label, and more touring will sharpen her to become the renaissance artist her PR department makes her out to be.