CD Review: Dashboard Confessional "Dusk and Summer"

On the first listen to Dashboard Confessional's new album Dusk and Summer you'll notice the band's sound has moved in much different direction from past efforts. Gone are the days of the hushed whisper behind delicately strummed acoustic chords. Those have been replaced by pounding electric guitar chords, a la the opening to the Spiderman 2 soundtrack Confessional hit "Vindicated," and lead singer and songwriter Chris Carrabba's piercing wail. First single "Don't Wait" is Exhibit A of this technique.

However, repeated times through this disc reveal something much darker and mature is going on here. First of all, Carrabba has officially grown up, by emo-hearthrob standards anyway. Maybe it was that opening gig on U2's last tour. Whereas his previous hits relied on standard high school poetry 001, like the "your hair/your hair is everywhere" line delivered to a departed lover in the breakthrough hit "Screaming Infidelities" so many years ago, now the singer has at least graduated basic human biology 101 -- witness the "my capillaries scream" line from "Reason to Believe" -- which is destined to become the next mass-singalong at future Dashboard shows.

Similarly, "The Secret's in the Telling" would be nothing more than a song about falling in love out at band camp -- if it weren't for Carrabba's plea for sex with the girl because, after all, "tonight may be the last chance we'll be given." And not only that but, "we are compelled to do what we have been forbidden." Who knew Chris was such a charmer?

And yet, somewhere between adding the louder guitars and an increased vocabulary, he's able to muster up the albums true stand-out song, "So Long, So Long" which is, of all things, a melancholy ode to summer love. True, the song was written awhile ago and has become a staple of the bands live performance, but with Counting Crows singer Adam Duritiz along for the ride this time, it's really the only track that captures all of Dashboard's best moments. It's dark, it's aching, yet it retains a measure of hope. It's odd that the songs greatest strength is the added texture Duritiz provides, and it shows Carrabba still has a knack for crafting elegant songs that don't require him belting out his trademark yelp in order to make an impact. If only the rest of this collection had followed suit.

The Verdict: ** 1/2