This is a record which makes no apologies for its easy listening values. It is dominated strong melodies, a determined romanticism and a love of West Coast harmonies.
The gorgeous orchestral pop of the title track immediately evokes the spirit of Jackson Browne or C,S, N & Y and asks the question "when did I become immune to the catastrophes?"
The songs can best be summed up as expressing the values of hope in a chaotic and confusing world. The 'eveything's gonna be just fine come rain or shine' sentiment is one that operates as a kind of auto suggestive mantra to emphasise a need for positive thinking. A straying off into sentimentalism and cliche inevitably comes with this territory so it demands that you put aside cynical thinking for its 46 minute duration.
Plumb and his band from Saskatchewan, Canada have now released three albums. This is their second, being preceded by 2003's 'Under and Over' and 'Wide Open' which hit the streets in 2009. Before that, Plumb fronted a band called 'The Walton's from 1989 to 2001.
The words and music to nine of the eleven songs on this album are by Plumb. The remaining two are covers. The album closes with Bill Withers' 'Hope She'll Be Happier' and there's also a version of 'Skyhigh', a 60s pop song by the largely forgotten English group, Jigsaw.
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The choice of the latter is particularly revealing in that it confirms a strong nostalgia for pre-punk values. The 60s era is a strong influence but it would probably be more accurate to compare their sound to 1970s melodic pop. Plumb has, for instance, confessed to a love of catchy ballads and an admiration for Elton John and The Bee Gees.
His are is not tastes or sentiments I wholly condone but I do admire the fact that Plumb sings the songs like he means them. This passion is not to be sniffed at giventhe countless artists content to replicate the sound but not the spirit of times gone by. Plumb may not have been born for these times but he's making the most of it just the same.
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