Plume Varia

Shon and Cherie Cobbs originally hail from Minneapolis, but they started their Plume Varia project in Denver in 2013. You can practically hear the gentle fall of snow and see the drift at the tail end of a mid-winter storm in the melancholic and melodic music on the duo's debut EP, Prize Enable. It has the same chilling-yet-stirring, darkly hypnotic quality that made Chelsea Wolfe's Pain Is Beauty, also released last year, so striking. A sense of movement characterizes Plume Varia's compositions, but the pace is still deliciously languid, recalling down-tempo bands like Portishead and nightmarish dream-pop acts like Cranes. The Cobbs developed their sound beyond the promise of that debut EP by playing the underground circuit in Denver, but Plume Varia won't stay obscure for long. You can hear them at the Sidewinder Tavern on Friday, March 21. - The Denver Westword

Plume Varia: SOUND: If Fiona Apple were in a long term relationship with Portishead.

In the noon time slot there isn't a lot going on. Most of these venues are bars and who goes to a bar/club/venue at noon? Who can get downtown, find parking, get their wristband at the main stage, and get to another venue by noon on a weekend? Not many. The first time slot is a little rough as far as crowds go. Plume Varia took the stage and slayed their set. With somber tone and dark synths that creep into your soul like shadows in a horror movie, this band just leaves you standing there numb. Bar Standard crew wasted no time in killing the lights and letting the sun shine through the windows to reflect off the dank hardwood floors. The eerie sight matched the thick sound dripping from the speakers. Two songs in and they’re already all up in my emotions. It’s too early for this. Fuck. Is it too early to drink? Normal people drink at noon when they’re at concerts right? RIGHT? Plume finishes off their set with grace and I exit to my next venue. I can tell it’s going to be a hell of a day. - SYFFAL

Been out for a while but that’s no reason not to give this gem a deserved once over. Plume Varia are a Denver based husband and wife duo – Shon and Cherie be their names, they describe their sounds as down tempo dream pop with minimalist piano and spoken word additives. Three tracks sit upon their debuting outing all applied with a deeply demurred torch trimming upon a divinely spectral neo classical underpinning, the song structures may be minimalist in design but their finitely measured poise fill the canvas with a less is more craft. The ethereal ’prize’ opens the account, the delicate weaves and the bruised afterglows impart a trembling shy eyed seduction cradled in a sepia twisted elegant hush gently traded and tempered in a hollowing dark romance haloed in crushed sighs and a heart heavy fading hope to which admirers of this mortal coil would do well to fall headlong into. Scarcely a dry eye in the house when ’enable’ veers into ear shot, lush in desire and succulently wrapped in an amorphous ghost light, its noir dappled classicism draws on the enchantment of a youthful Goldfrapp and the stirring majesty of Musetta albeit as though tied, bowed and imparted with the chilled statuesque grace of portishead at the height of their powers. All said being the awkward souls that we are it’s the parting shot ’bend’ that gets our vote as the sets best moment, an astral love note traced in the most alluring nocturnal noir soul motifs, a lunar apparition buoyed on the merest of vapour trailed whispers, in short perfection.
http://www.plumevaria.bandcamp.com - the sunday experience

http://www.isolationrecords.co.uk/2014%20reviews1.html

We've been living with this record for a little while now and it certainly has the power to burrow into your consciousness and feed your dreams. Plume Varia are Cherie Rae and Shon Cobbs, based in Denver, Colorado, which to British eyes doesn't immediately spring to mind as a hotbed of alternative music, but we are reliably informed is home to a wide and varied music scene which has certainly helped nurture an impressive piece of work. There are actually three tracks here, 'Prize', 'Enable' and 'Bend', none under six minutes, and on the whole consisting of Cherie's magnificent voice floating over a minimalist piano accompaniment, all thrown into a shadowy hinterland by Shon. It's affecting and moving, and if you ever loved the painfully intense soundscapes of This Mortal Coil, you may find yourself falling for these songs big time. The seven minute 'Prize' is the killer track here, hopelessly lost in itself, while the dense 'Enable' follows in the same footsteps and 'Bend' wanders more into dream pop territory. Give them a listen, and they will soon lie close to your heart. We can't help thinking that with this band and a buried, raking guitar (a la Gemma Thompson) we could quite possibly conquer the world. The EP is available for free download on Plume Varia's Bandcamp page, or as a CD from Kunaki. - Isolation Records

This husband/wife dreampop duo has a melodramatic sound that will make you want to dim the lights and twank it out thinking about Tom's chin. Very chill music. You're not gonna jump up and dance around but you can just zone out and stare at the ceiling contemplating the intricacies of life. You could definitely slow dance with someone in the living room to it. They have that sort of Portishead vibe with heavy drum and piano heavy layered instruments. The vocals are sexually reminiscent of an old school smoky lounge singer.Put on a fine suit, get a scotch on the rocks, and max out to this little ditty. - SYFFAL

Good golly, I love the noise emanating from metro Denver these days. I tell you now: I have not been disappointed lately in the rich tunes this town is writing. And just when I think I’ve turned over most of the rocks, a husband-wife duo comes along and hypnotizes my face. As someone who also makes “spouse music,” it is particularly exciting for me to give the Stubborn Sounds thumbs up to Plume Varia.

Denver's Plume Varia
Denver’s Plume Varia

Unlike some of my other reviews, I deliberately did not contact Plume Varia to discuss anything or ask questions about their background or music. Something held me back, as if the more I knew about the band, the less objectively I’d be able to reckon with their sound.

This is what I know. Shon and Cherie Cobbs are Plume Varia. Denver-based. They self describe as a “dreampop/ambient/trip-hop duo.” Their single is a three-song e.p. called “Prize/Enable.”

I have to recommend lights out, no distractions, when encountering this music for the first time. Seriously, lie down, shut those peepers, and turn off that gosh darned phone. While only three songs, they sequence so well and probably make the most sense as a trio. If you don’t have any context for ambient, dreampop, or triphop, put those big scary descriptions aside in favor of a musical comparison. Shades of Portishead, smidges of Mazzy Star, snippets of Craig Armstrong. Sorta.

Cherie’s voice sounds the way a menthol cigarette lit up outside at zero degrees tastes: delicious. She takes melodies down paths that you don’t hear coming. There’s such a thing as singing it straight – sans mystery – but her voice is too complex for that. Whether it’s a dizzying background aaahhhh or a long lead note, there’s a depth there that your everyday pop singer lacks.

The Herb to these vocal Peaches is Shon’s skill as a percussionist and effects man, all generated by laptop and assorted gizmos. While Cherie is laying down lyrics and making a piano gently weep, he’s ensuring that the music bed is a very interesting place. Ambient is absolutely the right word. The beat is sparing, leaving room for synth, Moogishness, guitar and other splashes.

Lyrical content: not even gonna go there. They may write about being human and in love or they might not. What I take from their lyrics is a sense of urgency.

There’s no doubt about their individual talents, but the core strength of this duo is that hard-to-describe magic that flickers into flame when partners in life also share music. That’s not to say that one wouldn’t enjoy Cherie singing cabaret and Shon in the DJ booth. But what they pour into these songs together as Plume Varia is a drink that can’t be sipped alone. - Stubborn Sounds

WOW.
One simple word encapsulates what I’m thinking and feeling after listening to Plume Varia, but I’m guessing that’s too simple a review.
Writing for Rift has given me the opportunity to hear a lot of great local music, but I love stumbling upon the rare song, or songs, that blow me away and Plume Varia’s blew me away.
Plume Varia is the new project of husband and wife Shon and Cherie Cobbs. It was born from last year’s Social Singles (as Days of Rae). The Cobbs have shaped a stunning, lush sound that fits each of their personal styles, as well as pushing them to experiment and expand their musical comfort zone. Their first offering is a two-song single, comprised of “Prize” and “Enable.”
“Prize” starts with a soft piano and Cherie’s echo-ey background vocals, which quickly transitions to her clear, strong voice interpreting somewhat dark lyrics (the ways I live to love you madly can obscure / but I know you don’t have to let me let you go). The effect is haunting, yet very alluring.
“Enable” has a moodier ambiance to its music production, but Cherie’s voice, airy and a touch above spoken word, makes a striking juxtaposition. The end result feels epic and that you’ll be lifted so high your feet will touch clouds.
My biggest complaint with today’s female vocalists is they sound like they’re trying out for an American Idol audition. That is NOT the case with Cherie Cobbs. She has a rare quality in her voice: Power. I can’t tell you who she sounds like as much as how much power and intensity she wraps around each word she sings.
There’s only one thing disappoints me about this two-song single: There are only two songs to listen to. The Cobbs are saving their other songs for a future album, and I hope they release those other songs soon. I look forward to hearing more from Plume Varia. - Rift Magazine

"The music itself is also deeply thoughtful and deliberate. Colorado’s music scene has long been flush with funky, jammy players who are out to uplift, which makes Plume Varia feel like a corrective as it emphasizes mood and reflection. " - Second Story Garage

"Plume Varia are Minneapolis folks that moved to Denver — their amazingly moody electronic-tinged torch music reminds me of a cross between the moodiest bits of David Sylvian in the mid-80s and, dunno, Wye Oak maybe? It’s great damn stuff, all atmosphere and slow grooves, so expect a few tears" - Le'toile Magazine

"The lonesome, downtempo, hazy lush pop of husband and wife, Shon and Cherie Cobbs is hauntingly gorgeous, with Cherie’s voice a centerpiece throughout. Venor|Forge straddles a fence between post-rock and pop that is delicate and dark, but new and modern, despite the half-century-ago setting." - Marquee Magazing

The release deeply resonates with the listener long after the tracks have finished. Vernor|Forge sounds more like the work of a massive electronic symphony comprised of mythological beings rather than a project recorded in the home of a Mile High City husband and wife." - AXS

Plume Varia who are a self-described Dream Pop duo. I’m not going to mince words here, their set was excellent. The husband and wife team of Cherie and Shon Cobbs cast a spell on the audience with their hypnotic, haunting, soulful songs that filled the room with an eternal sense of longing. Shon’s programming and production work created intelligent, firm terrain that enabled Cherie’s piano and vocal lines to soar into the star-filled sky and back down through your soul." - Colorado Music Seen

"With Cherie's rich, haunting voice and the overall melodic caress of the sound, Plume Varia is reminiscent of some bands out of the classic 4AD catalogue while forging its own path" - Westword