On his fourth outing as a solo artist, the in-demand everyman Sam Evian is in the business of wasting no one’s time. It has only been three years since his third LP and clearly, Evian is far from done evolving. The nine tracks presented on Plunge were recorded in isolation except for a select few friends of Evian and many polar plunges in the Catskills mountain. The freeing recording process echoes throughout this tracklist, Evian grabbed onto whatever thought floated out of his head with a death grip, hammering it out until it became the minimal yet potent approach that drives Plunge. With only nine songs to squeeze in three years of life experience, the engineer/producer. His status as a producer shines on this album as the artist pieces together a plethora of emotions and sets them to even more expansive and awe-inspiring arrangements.
Pop-tinted arrangements are blended with touches of jazz’s syncopation and the breezy tones of surf rock. Unlike his contemporaries who attempt the same fusion-style production, Evian makes it feel natural and present. By keeping his arrangements minimal, he is able to toy with tones and mix them with a plethora of influences for something modern with touches of the past. While these songs can sound conventional on the surface, Evian hides his production prowess under stunning balladry and catchy melodies. His harmonies are carefully layered like a Baklava with tones just as sweet as well, creating dense vocal textures to counteract the subtleness of the production.
In a world of albums with forced messaging and unnecessary complexity, Evian opts for the simpler things in life and spins them into unforgettable tunes. His lyrics of longing are juxtaposed with poetic tales of watching life pass you by. Evian can capture the smallest moments and turn them into lighting in a bottle, honing his emotions into tight structures with slow-burning tendencies. Evian was able to make nine songs feel like a cinematic masterpiece, allowing his warping arrangements to unfurl into landscapes with alien-like plant life. His urge to explore as many sonic realms as possible opened the door for a tracklist that seamlessly bounces from psychedelic undertones (“Jacket”) to distorted balladry (“Why Does It Take So Long”).
On the surface, these songs can seem a bit conventional, and the tracklist can feel forced with its varying tones. Miraculously, Evian can keep these songs’ commercial tendencies to a minimum by carefully dissecting his work to find the perfect point to detonate instrumental bliss. The cascading horns that close out the single “Rollin’ In” keep the moody tune from being one-dimensional and the subtle funk of a track like “Freakz” proves he’s not afraid to step outside his comfort zone. Plunge showcases the many sides of Evian’s artistry with the connective tissue stemming from his unwillingness to let an idea go to waste. By toying with modern conventions, Evian was able to filter the modern pop landscape through his creative lens to land on a planet he could craft and make his own.
Sam Evian created a potent LP with Plunge and keeps the album exciting by piecing together his lofty ideas and loosely tying them together via their unpredictable tendencies. By allowing even his loftiest visions to settle into his honed song craft he created a brand of pop music he can proudly call his own. Plunge plays like a cosmic journey through the many influences of Evian as the artist successfully avoids the threat of comparison by never shying away from his unique artistry. Evian created an infectious album with something for everybody, sit back and allow a master of tone to change the atmosphere in the room with glittering melodies, soaring harmonies, and a kaleidoscope of production styles and moods.
