Friday, October 05, 2007

Dashboard Confessional - The Shade Of Poison Trees

There are a few bands that, because of some emotional attachement from my youth, I will always give a listen to when they put out a new album. Blink-182 is probably the most obvious to those that know me, followed closely by Jimmy Eat World, Saves the Day, and Dashboard Confessional. Which brings me to their latest album, The Shade of Poison Trees.



When the album art was released, I had a good feeling about this album. The art resembled two of my favorite EP's by them, So Impossible and Summer's Kiss. It was simple and bare bones, which I hoped would reflect how the music was. I've seen Chris Carrabba countless times, and each time it seems he gets a bit more arrogant in his live shows. I don't know what it is, because for someone that is so against anything and everything radio does to music, he sure seems to make some pretty radio friendly tunes. Despite my personal feelings towards him, I strongly believe he has a gift when it comes to crafting the most perfect melodies, and he does it well.

Last summer's Dusk and Summer almost felt like an entirely different band from the one that originally was just Carrabba and a guitar. It felt more like a full alternative rock band, and while some of the songs were still full of emotion, some of them just didn't hit close enough to home. The songs, while good at times, didn't have the staying power that songs like "For You To Notice" or "The Good Fight".

So here we are, a little over a year later and we have his latest offering, which marks a return to a sound that got me through some of my hardest times. He's shed the full rock band sound, and returned to his "roots" so to speak with an acoustic guitar. The backing band is still there, but believe me, this feels and sounds just like The Places You Have Come To Fear The Most-ish Dashboard.

Gone are the whiney lyrics, replaced by words written by somebody who has done quite a bit of growning up. Who knows, maybe even his live shows will reflect that. The songs are poppy, fun, and honest. This is definitely an album for fans of Swiss Army Romance and The Places You Have Come To Fear The Most. Give a listen and take comfort in the fact that just because you may have grown up a bit, you can still wear your heart on your sleeve every now and again.

Dashboard Confessional will be in town on November 2nd at Clutch Cargo's and tickets can be purchased here. I'll be there, hopefully passing out tons of let's trade mix tapes stickers and buttons so come hang out!

Myspace: Dashboard Confessional

1 comment:

bpl said...

I saw him in Las Vegas on Friday, and he was pretty arrogant the entire show. It was really disappointing, especially with this new cd sounding so much like his old stuff. It was almost like he didn't care about the crowd unless they were singing his lyrics... incredibly disappointing, but it was a good show nonetheless. Augustana played an amazing set.
I see DC and Jack's Mannequin on Wednesday in LA, and if Chris isn't careful, he will be BLOWN off the stage by Andrew McMahon and Co. I have seen JM live, and they are incredible. LA is Andrew's hometown too, so Chris better shrink his head a bit and hit all the high notes or else he won't leave LA feeling good.
Good blog, keep up the great work.

 
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