Recall Sheila Sachs’ poison-greeting-card art for Freakwater’s 2005 Thinking of You LP, and you will understand the packaging of Plum, the new Thrill Jockey 7” vinyl-only box set, which she also designed. (This newly-released collection contains twenty Thrill Jockey artists covering the songs of seventeen Thrill Jockey artists). The collection presents itself pleasingly, as if it were a box of woman’s stationery - open the lid, and you’ll see on the records’ sleeves pictures of fruits on a creamy white background - some halved, showing their pits, some still clustered together on their branches.  But something is wrong here:  These plums are overripe and unappetizing; not completely wilted, but definitely past the point where you’d want to take a bite.  Finally, when you start spinning the discs, the metaphor hits - this is music similarly neglected, well past the point of desirability by consumers who hunger instead for something mass-produced and familiar.  For those who actually have the stomach to ingest Plum, there’s nothing left to do but let these neglected fruits ferment and try to get a little high off the bitter brew. 

Freakwater bring their version of The Zincs’ “Passengers” here.  Recorded by Paul Oldham in Louisville, these two-and-a half minutes give us the first-ever (and uncredited) harmonica on a Freakwater track. Also, Janet Bean plays her new mandola, possibly pointing the way to the sound of any future Freakwater recordings.

Freakwater enjoys the distinction of being covered three times on these records, rather than just once like the rest. Thalia Zedek fleshes out “Flat Hand” (from Springtime) – singing the quiet parts more quietly and the louder parts more loudly, sounding a little like something from Neil Young’s Tonight’s the Night. Her effort treats Freakwater’s music as a blueprint, loaded with potential and possibilities for expansion.  Bobby Conn’s “Washed in the Blood” is, (shudder), disco-esque, with Electric Light Orchestra-violin parts and plinking children’s toy instruments.  Is he an admirer who wishes to present Freakwater in his own idiom, or is his goal total mockery and ridicule?  Considering that it’s Bobby Conn, the answer to both questions is probably “yes”.  Meanwhile, Califone, the band that supported Freakwater and helped make Thinking of You happen, give “Jewel” their signature earthy, airy treatment. They don’t transform the song so much as simply present it in their own way. 

Taken as a whole, Plum is the kiss-off letter that will never reach its intended reader: The music consumer who has no consciousness of the independents. Ironically, it’s up to the record-bin divers with the dusty analog equipment to drink up the bitterness this little box offers. It’s alright, though; it’s a homebrew many have learned to appreciate.  There are plenty of people who like their fruit from the pot nine days old, so here is a place for Plum.