Plume Giant’s New Album is as Strong as They Ever Were

A few years back I wrote about a band called Plume Giant. They sent IHYEB a copy of their EP and I thought they had a very retro-folk sound and I really enjoyed their vocal harmonies and light instrumentation. Since that first EP, Plume Giant and their sound have grown up a bit. Last October, Plume Giant went to Kickstarter to raise funds for a new album and it worked. They were able to successfully raise $10,365, almost $3k more than their $7,500 goal.

Callithump, the groups first full-length album, is the result of that Kickstarter project and it weighs in at 33 minutes of energy, passion and folk-pop fusion.

The album opens strong with “Kensico Dam,” a high energy track with some warm guitar, vocal harmonies and the right mix of percussive sounds. Compared to “I’m on Drugs,” which opened their EP, this track draws you the album with relative ease.

Track 2, “B Side Baby,” is a favorite of mine from the album for both it’s light and playful lyrics but also it’s rising tempo and ability to suck you into the song.

“I’ll be your B Side baby but I want you to be by my side tonight.”

Other tracks don’t grab me as much as the first two do. “November” feels out of place coming off the energy of the first two tracks and “We Got It Made” definitely feels like it’s from another time. “Wait it Out” almost feels like I’m listening to another artist compared to the first four tracks. It’s incredibly enjoyable to listen to but I just wonder if it’s stylistic differences make it a better match for another release. Although the style of “Wait it Out” is odd, “Old Joe the Crow” is defintely out there as well. A storytelling song about a crow named Joe is definitely different from the rest of the songs on the album. I could never really get into this song for a few reasons, one being the story is strange but the chorus line didn’t appeal to me musically.

“Birthday” is when the album starts to get back on track for me. I’m reminded a lot of the group Daughter in this track and it’s strong lyricism balances well with the guitar. The album goes on to finish well with “Before the Sun,” “Smoking Gun,” “Back Porch” and “Aisle Nine.”

In summary, I feel like the album isn’t as strong in the middle as it is on the other two ends but it is composed of great songs and I will definitely be sprinkling them into some of the mixes I make for friends. Callithump comes out next month and you can pre-order the album on Plume Giant’s website and like them on Facebook for more details and also future shows.

As always, I hope your ears bleed. Ω