It must be exhausting
being the one in charge. Plumb has been in the studio for
months working on their sophomore release, candycoatedwaterdrops, and lead singer and band founder
Tiffany Arbuckle, sitting Indian-style in her chair, can
hardly hold a conversation without sipping her special lemon
honey hot tea. The whirlwind schedule of making this album
seems to be finally catching up with her, taking a toll on
her voice.
"We've got half a mix
going on in L.A., half a mix going on in Nashville," she
says, cupping the tea with both hands. "Two songs are still
being tracked. This past week has been pre-production
rehearsal. We take a photo shoot, and it doesn't work so we
have to take another photo shoot. Then you have shows
in-between. It's just been crazy for the last four
months."
It might be because
this album is requiring more work than usual. Despite the
popularity of the group's self-titled debut (which sold a
reported 100,000 units), this project is going a completely
different musical direction. In fact, candycoatedwaterdrops
will probably shock many of the group's fans. Plumb's days
of being an aggressive, female-fronted alternative band--as
they were originally labeled--are all but gone. Welcome a
deeper, more mature Plumb.
Candycoatedwaterdrops
finds the group veering focus away from the big beats and
loops of their debut to a more radio-friendly, middle-of-the-road pop sound. The shift is reflective of the
band finally finding their true voice. "On the first album I
was at two ends of the spectrum," Tiffany says. "'Crazy' is
so different from 'Endure.' I tried it, threw it out there
and it did well, but over the last two years I was thinking, You know, I'm not really the 'Crazy' type. I like deeper
songs like 'Sobering' and 'Endure' more.
"I like musically
solid, mature songs," she says. "Through touring so much
over the last two years, we now know more of who we are
instead of who someone wants us to be."
Plumb's new sound
should strike a chord with fans of Rebecca St. James, Sarah
Masen or mainstream sensation Natalie Imbruglia, of whom
many of the tracks are reminiscent. In fact, the project has
a direct connection to Imbruglia: much of
Candycoatedwaterdrops is produced by Matt Bronleewe, who
wrote with and produced Imbruglia's smash album (he also
co-produced Plumb's first album).
The edgy, alternative
tracks from Plumb's debut have been replaced with
easy-to-swallow, yet lyrically deep, pop. "We wanted to
change our sound into something a bit more mature and not as
dark and quirky as the first album," keyboardist Matt
Stanfield says. The end result? A project some fans of the
debut will love, while some won't.
The angst-ridden, guitar-heavy sound is gone. The keyboards and guitars are
both scaled way back, allowing for an airy, melodic sound.
Because of this, the spotlight falls on Tiffany's vocals and
the album's tight production. To that end, Essential Records
also brought in producer Glenn Rosenstein (U2, Madonna, Caedmon's Call) for several songs.
The album also
includes the London Symphony Recording Orchestra on some
songs, the string parts written, orchestrated and conducted
by Tom Howard (who's worked with the likes of Bob Carlisle
and The Choir). "It was so passionate and beautiful,"
Tiffany remarks.
While the feel of
candycoatedwaterdrops is noticeably different from the first
album, change is nothing new for Plumb. Since the band's
inception, it seems as if they've done more than their share
of it.
At first, Plumb wasn't
even supposed to be a band at all. After Tiffany paid her
Christian music dues as a back-up singer for artists like
Lisa Bevill and Benjy Gaither, Essential Records signed her
to a record contract. The original working idea was for her
to do a sort of Debbie Gibson-like solo thing under the
stage name Tiff Tyler. Though that album (slated to be
called Galaxy Girl) was never made, Tiffany can be seen in
early publicity photos sporting a pink wig and tu-tu. "It
was just stupid," she admits.
"When I used to be a
back-up singer, I didn't know who I was because I sang
everyone else's music," Tiffany says. "When I was handed the
opportunity to do my own style, I had no clue what I wanted
to do. The reason I had on a pink wig and a couple of quirky
songs is because I was experimenting. [Essential] had signed me not knowing if I was going to do a band thing
or a solo thing. I just started writing." After a brief
stint under the Tiff Tyler label, it was obvious to her a
change needed to be made. She wanted to have a band
name.
"I realized if I gave
it a band name, I would make it a band," she says. "They
would be in the pictures and videos. We would put our live
show together, make decisions together. It wouldn't be just
me with them as hired guns."
Thus, Plumb was born.
Well, at least in name. As recording started on the first
album, Tiffany was still the only real member. Studio
musicians were hired until the permanent members could be
found. "Joe [Porter, drums] and Matt
[keyboards] were called in as session players,"
Tiffany says. "I was totally sold on them. I asked them to
join, but because at that point the band was just me and
everything was so new, I thought, They aren't going to
commit to this. I thought I'd have to get some cheap college
kids who wanted to be in a band, and here these were actual
professional players."
Pick up the latest issue of Release Magazine at your local store or check out their website for more artist interviews.Used with permission, Release Magazine
