Over the years, Chris Carrabba has taken a lot of criticism for his honest ballads. With poetry rivaled by few, classic Dashboard Confessional albums like The Places You Have Come To Fear the Most have become the soundtracks to every tragedy of betrayal, romance and high school breakups.
Though Carrabba may be in his early 30s, he proves he can still channel youthful heartbreak through anthems packed with an emotional punch on Dashboard’s latest album, The Shade of Poison Trees.
In Shade, crooning frontman Chris Carrabba may return to his acoustic roots, but the album is anything but a step backward. Carrabba takes a giant leap forward by shedding the uninspiring full-band arrangements of Dusk and Summer, scarcely even daring to use a full rhythm section, and sticks primarily to thrilling, acoustic multi-guitar riffs. On tracks like the album’s first single, “Thick as Thieves” Carrabba tries to recapture the hearts of those who fell in love with him years ago after the release of cult favorite The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most.
The chorus of “Thick as Thieves” is laden with multi-track self-harmonization and playful acoustic guitar. The song sounds like it’s pulled straight from 2001’s Places and Carrabba makes no effort to hide it.
Carrabba proves he can still devastate listeners with his unique and creative metaphors for heartbreak and failed relationships that border on cheesy, making no apologies for his honest lyrics. Songs like “These Bones,” arguably take this aesthetic a step further, maturing on the harmonies and guitar riffs of Places and employing orchestral arrangements to add to the complex and beautiful melodies. In the heart-wrenching love song “Clean Breaks,” Carrabba sounds like he did six years ago pushing impressively high notes and wailing, “I need you to ruin me” over a round exchanged by guitar, piano and strings.
Carrabba makes few half-hearted attempts at something new, and the majority of the album returns to the tried and true bare bones acoustics of Places. Songs like “Fever Dreams” and “The Rush” show attempts to branch out into driving electronic indie beats, ultimately trampling on the sincerity that makes Dashboard so unique. “Matters of Blood and Connection” may seem the most out of place as Carrabba departs from his usual cathartic personal confessions and wages war on the upper class, faulting those who have had everything handed to them, “Thanks to fathers and fortunate sons.”
Luckily for Dashboard’s loyal fans, misguided and ill-advised tracks are few and far between, and Carrabba delivers on the rest of the album with renewed energy. Tracks like the anthemic opener “Where There’s Gold…,” “Keep Watch For the Mines” and “Little Bombs” beg listeners to sing along contrasting aggressive acoustic guitar and Carrabba’s sugary-sweet harmonies.
The album is inconsistent at times, but hints that there are better days to come again for Carrabba and Dashboard. Whether the acoustic pop of The Shade of Poison Trees can win over a new crop of wide-eyed teenagers, or just re-conquer the hearts of the ones who once fell in love with Places, Carrabba wants us all to believe that maybe you can go back again.
