Need You Now

Returning after a six-year absence, Plumb makes up for lost time with these urgent and revealing songs. Need You Now finds the band’s original (and now sole) member Tiffany Lee reclaiming the intensity that typified her earliest work. There are moments of inner conflict—even crisis—in these tracks, underscored by pain-wracked vocals, astringent guitars, and pounding rhythms. Lee draws on her own weakness and self-doubt to fuel the lyrics to the churning “Invisible” and the hard-throbbing “Cage.” Moving beyond the angst of her younger days, she grapples with grown-up relationship issues in “At Arm’s Length” and finds hope amid the turmoil of everyday life in “Drifting” (a duet with Jars of Clay’s Dan Haseltine). “Don’t Deserve You” is a paean of love and gratitude that avoids mere sweetness in favor of something more spiritually resonant. There are lighter-hearted moments as well, most notably the playful shuffle “Chocolate & Ice Cream” and the buoyant, ukulele-powered “One Drop.” Whether she’s confronting her fears or celebrating faith and family, Lee writes and sings with conviction; Need You Now is an impressive return to form.