Veronica Charnley and Geof Holbrook have often walked a tightrope between pop and classical music in their work, incorporating classical elements into their indie pop or vice versa. But sometimes they prefer to keep the two streams separate, which is probably why the couple has sometimes operated as the neoclassical Plumes Ensemble and other times as the Plumes pop combo. Oh Orwell is definitely a pop record, if a sonically diverse and excitingly multicoloured one. But there’s a chance it might mark an end to the multi-Plumes concept, as Charnley, the group’s singer and principal songwriter, and Holbrook, its arranger and multi-instrumentalist, decided to separate after creating it. If so, it’s a beautiful parting gift for fans of their sweeping, shimmering sound. Charnley’s clear and powerful voice is set against a lush soundscape that includes horns, clarinets, and harp, as well as keys, guitars, bass, and drums, all beautifully woven together by the duo and producer, guitarist, and keyboard-player Saam Hashemi. Each track has a distinct flavour, with Charnley inspired by things as varied as George Orwell, Joseph Boyden, the Tour de France, and a fish heading back to its spawning ground. The several cheerful, bouncy, and airy tracks belie their lyrics about disintegrating relationships, regret, and love being as sticky as seaweed (“you can’t push it away / you can’t stop it from coming back”). In contrast, “Golden Gourmande” features just starkly beautiful guitar, Charnley’s voice, and an angelic background chorus, while the title song surrounds that voice with plucked harp, horns, and drums. No matter which direction they go in, the result is intoxicating.
 

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