Artist Info:Discography Album length: 14 tracks Street Date: February 28, 2006
Plumb entered the music scene in 1997 with her dark but intriguing alt rock
self-titled debut. Life has changed in many ways for Plumb since then - from switching labels and changing
band members, to getting married and, last year, becoming a mother. Her long anticipated, much delayed
fourth studio release, Chaotic Resolve is an edgier project than her more subdued 2003 release
Beautiful Lumps Of Coal, revisiting the more rock-influenced sounds she started out with.
Plumb's music has remained anything but stagnant, progressing with each album over the past nine years.
Her sophomore release Candycoatedwaterdrops took a step in a more pop-friendly direction from Plumb, before
blossoming fully into the radio single-laden Beautiful Lumps Of Coal. Through the progressions
her sound has endured from album to album, the edge and aggression of her debut diminished, making her sound
more accessible for new fans, but left a void for those who enjoyed her humble beginnings.
Chaotic Resolve is basically the best of both worlds. Merging the pop elements of her recent
works with a darker edge from her earlier offerings, Chaotic Resolve is an electronic-glazed pop/rock
record that sounds fresh and modern while giving a little wink and a nod to the old fans.
Because of these stylistic shifts, some less knowledgeable listeners may even be tempted to draw
comparisons to Evanescence's Amy Lee in listening to this record, not realizing Lee has cited Plumb as always
being an inspiration for her own sound.
Plumb's music has been centered around relationships since the beginning, often addressing tough issues such as
abuse, neglect, breakups, adultery, and most prominently on Chaotic Resolve, cutting. "Cut"
is an emotional highlight, a piano ballad that meets those struggling with the self-inflicted pain right where they're at.
"I Can't Do This," the album's first single that has been impacting radio since early last year,
is a more aggressive rock track that serves as a blatant admittance of dependency on God. But despite
these and other tracks like "Manic" and "Good Behavior," lighter themes do exist on the album, much in
the same vein as songs from Beautiful Lumps Of Coal.
"Blush (Only You)," the album's opener, and "Real Life Fairytale" are both infectious pop anthems
about being in love, while "Motion," the ugly duckling of Chaotic Resolve is a somewhat out-of-place
club friendly dance number that bests most any of its mindless secular market alternatives. Other highlights
include the rock tracks "Better," "Good Behavior," and the lullaby closer "Sleep."
Chaotic Resolve is a wonderful addition to Plumb's impressive catalog of music. Her songs
has always cut a little deeper than most in similar genres and this album is no different. It's fresh,
it's emotional, it's sensitive, and it just so happens to offer some of Plumb's strongest material to date.
- Review date: 2/26/06, written by John DiBiase
Artist Info: 
