Dusk And Summer - Dashboard Confessional

...mainly women and heartbreak! With Dusk and Summer he as created an album with much more musical depth and thought, which (I feel) was needed to move Dashboard Confessional forward. Some fans of their previous work may disagree with this, however I would say it still has the base of the original Dashboard, but feel it's matured and musically developed.
Dusk and Summer is Dashboard Confessional at full strength, moving forward with their musical ...
...
Track 9 - Dusk and Summer (4:38)
Traditional Dashboard Confessional, this song is similar to some on earlier albums, with Chris and his guitar. This song seems very personal and becomes almost an interlude between the album.
"And she said, "No one is alone the way you are alone." / And you held her looser than you would have if you ever could have known."

Track 10 - Heaven Here (4:08)
... more

I bought this album at the beginning of last summer (2006) and it soon became my album of the summer, played when cruising down to the beach (I live in Cornwall), chilling with mates and whenever there was a CD slot free in my CD player! Being a fan I guess this review may be a bit bias, but I will try my best to keep it fair for everyone.
Chris Carrabba (singer-songwriter and guitarist in Dashboard) has been creating music for sometime now, with great success. He has 5 albums under his belt (including this one), as well an MTV2 award, for their song "Screaming Infidelities", and has produced soundtracks for Shrek 2 and Spider-Man 2.
Dashboard tends toward acoustic style music with an indie rock feel. Their previous work has been outstanding, emotionally controlling albums which tugs at the listener as Chris sings about his experiences of life, mainly women and heartbreak! With Dusk and Summer he as created an album with much more musical depth and thought, which (I feel) was needed to move Dashboard Confessional forward. Some fans of their previous work may disagree with this, however I would say it still has the base of the original Dashboard, but feel it's matured and musically developed.
Dusk and Summer is Dashboard Confessional at full strength, moving forward with their musical creations. With a verity of musical backing, beautiful lyrics and well pitched harmonies, the CD captures all emotions from the passionate Don't Wait to the sensitive So Long So Long, which encompasses a smooth piano duet with Adam Duritz from Counting Crows.
The 11 songs on the album (including the bonus Vindicated track from Spiderman 2) are well mixed to create an almost storyline of emotion, pulling you along with it.

Track 1 - Don't Wait (4:05)
A mix of acoustic guitar and powerful chorus sets the scene for the album to follow. Simple guitar and drumming lines work well together to back the lyrics and Chris' powerful voice.

Track 2 - Reason To Believe (3:43)
A powerful electric guitar based song. This song took me a couple of times to get into, but now I really enjoy it. Once a gain a strong chorus and very clever key change for the bridge and ending brings the song into life.

Track 3 - The Secret's In The Telling (3:24)
A slightly more relax song than the last, expressing the attraction between lovers on what may be their last night together. Again the song contains an intelligent key change to the end of the song, leading into track 4.

Track 4 - Stolen (3:53)
This song is an emotion of heartbreak. With simple lyrics, this song bases itself around Chris' voice. A slow start builds up to a full finish, developing with the song.

Track 5 - Rooftops and Invitations (3:54)
A mix of plucked verses and a powerful chorus, this song has a slight U2 feel about it, helped by delayed guitar lines. The lyrics of this song are very strong, leaving you feel like you where involved.
"She just might get you lost, And she just might leave you torn, But she just might save your soul"

Track 6 - So Long, So Long feat. Adam Duritz of Counting Crows (4:15)
This is possibly my favourite track of the album (although its hard to choose). A slow piano duet with Adam Duritz from Counting Crows, this song makes you feel amazing! Brillint lyrics pull at you as the song builds, only enhanced by the perfect harmonies between the two voices.
"How the girls can turn to ghosts before your eyes, And the very dreams that led to them are keeping them from dying"

Track 7 - Currents (4:27)
A more typical Dashboard song bringing back Chris' desire to tell us about his experiences (very well I might add) of women and heartbreak. However, rather than going for the acoustic side, we are treated with a mix of piano and electric guitar lines, giving depth to the song.

Track 8 - Slow Decay (4:08)
This song is quite different to others on the album. It's much harder compared to the other songs, with lyrics about a guys experiences and feelings after serving in the forces. Starting deep, the song develops to a full chorus and dramatic finish, becoming rather addictive.

Track 9 - Dusk and Summer (4:38)
Traditional Dashboard Confessional, this song is similar to some on earlier albums, with Chris and his guitar. This song seems very personal and becomes almost an interlude between the album.
"And she said, "No one is alone the way you are alone." / And you held her looser than you would have if you ever could have known."

Track 10 - Heaven Here (4:08)
Again, one of my favourite songs on the album, this song is almost epic, with the reverb set on the bass drum and little background extras added to add intensity to the song.
"And heavens not waiting, It's spilling its secrets, It's right here between us, And we've no other choice but believe"

Track 11 - Vidicated
All that you would expect from a soundtrack. A super song for a super film, it has it all, passion, emotion and a very addictive piano/guitar line. The lyrics are very easy to follow and extremely catchy.

Hidden Track - found BEFORE Don't Wait
If you rewind Don't Wait, there is a hidden track before it called "Write It Out".

The only downfall I can see with this album is the drumming. You may find it rather repetitive, with similar beats for the first 3 songs and a couple more following them, however, this is soon forgotten as you get sucked into the moment of another beautiful, emotionally crafted song!
Chris definitely knows how to write songs, proven by this album, taking the simplistic option, rather than experimental, you find there are no songs that you want to turn off.
Although this album does not represent the original Dashboard style, I feel it is some of their best work yet, with many songs that will live long in the memory.

Influences include:
Tom Petty
Springsteen
Neil Young
Pearl Jam

If you like this, then you may also like:
The Starting Line
Death Cab For Cutie
Youth Group
Jimmy Eat World
Angels and Airwaves
David Gray
Damian Rice

www.dashboardconfessional.com/

www.myspace.com/dashboardconfessional

Lyrics - www.azlyrics.com/d/dashboard.html

 

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