Dashboard Confessional
A lot of musicians get their first instrument as a gift. A fifteen-year-old Chris Carrabba got a guitar from his uncle. While he learned how to play it, Carrabba was far more interested in skateboarding and didn't get serious about music until after high school when he joined Vacant Andys.
Carrabba seemed to be one of those guys who showed up here and there, as a solo performer ("The Swiss Army Romance" album - later re-issued as a Dashboard Confessional album) or fronting various bands (in addition to Vacant Andys, there was The Agency and Further Seems Forever). The Florida-based singer/songwriter created the acoustic oriented Dashboard Confessional because he didn't want a group named after him or be seen as a solo. Carrabba felt it might discourage the audience from joining in and being part of the show. The name was inspired by Carrabba's song "The Sharp Hint of New Tears." It has the line "On the way home, this car hears my confessions." The EP "Drowning" on Fiddler Records preceded the full-length "Places You Have Come To Fear The Most," in '01. At the end of the year another EP "So Impossible" came out.
The acoustic/Emo approach provided an excellent framework for Carrabba's lyrics. While hardly profound, mercifully, they did show some depth and thought, a trait that drew attention and attracted fans.
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"This basement's a coffin, I'm buried alive. I'll die in here just to be safe. I'll die here just to be safe. 'Cause you're gone I get nothing. And you're off with barely a sigh. I never said "Goodbye." ("This Ruined Puzzle")
Former Vacant Andys bassist Dan Bonebrake and one-time Agency drummer Mike Marsh took time off from their group Seville to work on the Dashboard Confessional album and tour. Rocking Horse Winner singer Jolie Lindholm provided additional vocals.
While still the mayor of Emo Rock, Carrabba kicked up some dust in the neighborhood with the '03 release "A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar." The album had more focus and drive than previous efforts. Continuing in much the same vein, Dashboard Confessional released "Dusk And Summer" three years later.
Dashboard Confessional played the final show of '07's mtvU Campus Invasion Tour in Philly and a few weeks later their Madison Square Garden show, featuring "Don't Wait," "Stolen," and "Screaming Infidelities" was taped for PBS' Soundstage. Dashboard Confessional's fifth studio album, "The Shade Of The Poison Trees," containing, "Thick As Thieves," "Little Bombs" and "Keep Watch For The Mines," dropped that October.
Carrabba sounds like a guy who's just been dumped by his girlfriend, probably for the second or third time, and decides to go home and write an album about it. Except for the acoustic title track, which isn't bad, "Dusk And Summer" has mid-tempo songs and standard Rock/pop arrangements. This at least makes Carrabba's musings on hope ("Reason To Believe"), longing ("Come Back Where You Belong") and fate ("The Secret's In The Telling"), moving forward.
"A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar" keeps Carrabba's acoustic/electric blend but he amps up the energy on "Hands Down" and teen Rocker "Bend Not Break." "Rapid Hope Loos" kicks while "Carve Your Heart Out" has slow verses segueing into a rousing chorus. For longtime fans there's the acoustic "Carry This Picture" which is "traditional" Dashboard Confessional.
If the lyrics don't hook you on "Places You Have Come To Fear Most," nothing will. There is a sameness to many of Dashboard Confessional's vocal/acoustic guitar ramblings. The mid-tempo "Screaming Infidelities" and "The Good Fight" have some punch but they are the exception. Other tracks are sparse with Carrabba emoting his way through the personal minefields before him. Some people rave about the self-actualizing lyrics - yes, Carrabba can write beyond simple rhymes. There's passion, no doubt, but not a lot of Rock. This is the album to play when you want to impress someone with your sensitivity. Good luck.
OK. With the title "The Shade Of The Poison Trees" and not a piercing guitar within earshot, it would be easy to assume this album is another dreary Emo drill. But actually the acoustic-oriented album has enough energy and craftsmanship (and that's a compliment) to put it across. Even the backing vocals, usually an afterthought, are integral to the songs.
The lean arrangements accent but don't get in the way of the catchy melodies which are sung by Carrabba with a confident exuberance.