Album Review

Plum – Different Skin

• 6th Nov 2009

The first major album from Plum begins on a sultry, carefree note with a hint of East meets West brought in through the twang of the monotonous guitar in the verses mixed with electronic note bends brought into the chorus. The opener is a thoughtful song but the vocals are somewhat lacking. It’s difficult to pin down what’s missing but something seems a bit flat and one is left wondering if perhaps her attempt to seem ‘laid back’ is what makes the vocals come across as almost lacklustre.

The East/West theme continues (not unsurprisingly judging from the cover art) and it’s a decent attempt at fusing ethereal, feminine melodies with earthy Eastern folk but it never seems to take off. “You” is a darker number which adds a definite sense of sexy, mysterious goings on and when the song thickens towards the end there is a moment of excitement as you briefly believe that the song so far was building up to something heavier and more substantial. Alas, this is not to be and the song finishes incredibly abruptly to the extent where you might even have a fiddle with your headphones to check that it hasn’t cut out. The album trundles along with more almost-there attempts at establishing an atmosphere but everything seems slightly out of sync with everything else and it all gets a bit repetitive and frustrating by the middle of the album.

There album’s saving grace would be “Oceans”, a sweet, honest acoustic number tainted only by the bizarre rain-maker effect which sounds more like someone forgot to lock the snare drum than anything else. It puts you off from the first real appearance of Plum’s wonderfully melodious voice. Unfortunately, this isn’t the only instance of a frankly bizarre sound effect. Later in the album “Eagle and the Penguin” makes use of a waterfall sound bite which stimulates nothing but the bladder. It’s a shame, because this song has some wonderful peaks and troughs, and aside from the annoying leak which springs every time you think it’s fixed, is the highlight of the album simply for its lofty, flowing chorus.
The album trundles along nicely enough but nothing really jumps out at you. “Connor”, Plum’s not-too-shabby stab at spoken word, is a memorable track for the most part because it’s something a bit different from the rest of the mishmash of sound that surrounds it; it’s somewhat more clear-cut in its sound, with more musical definition and purpose. Like the rest of the album, though, it drags a bit and when it does finish there is a moment of shock when you suddenly realize that there’s no music playing anymore; for all practical purposes, the song finished about 40 seconds ago.

And disappointingly enough this sentiment is the overtone of the album. It’s notable for its absence rather than its presence… if you take the time to listen to it you’ll notice as each song finishes rather than as it starts. But you can’t help but think that for Plum the only way is up from here. The album has its occasional moments when you think that there is more to her as a musician than the messy, rough-around-the-edges songs which comprise it and one can only hope that whatever we hear from Plum next will see her building on the foundations she has laid for herself which could see her becoming someone to watch out for within her genre.