Plumb ‘Behold’ & ‘It’s Christmastime’

Plumb
Behold EP/It’s Christmastime EP
(Plumb Music/Street Talk Media)

Recording Christmas music comes with its own unique challenges. Should one cover secular or spiritual carols? Ought one go for funny, serious or both? Plumb addresses these hard choices handily with two enjoyable new holiday-themed EPs. Of the two, Behold is the more spiritually centered. Its title track is especially moving, as Plumb lyrically draws a relevant parallel between how Christ’s arrival did not exactly live up to everybody’s expectations at the time, the same way circumstances in our own lives don’t always line up as planned. This set is also highlighted by a sweetly quiet “Silent Night/Away In A Manger” medley, which features Young Oceans.

It’s Christmastime, on the other hand, is lighter and focused more on the secular pleasures of the season. “Christmas Vacation” expresses the wonderful freedom a Christmas vacation offers, while “I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas” lets Plumb have a little silly fun. Thankfully, in the case of these two EPs, the ‘something for everyone’ rule decidedly applies.

—Dan MacIntosh