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Dashboard Confessional, the project of Florida-based singer and guitarist
Chris Carrabba, formerly of Further Seems Forever and the Vacant Andies,
plays cute and pathos-filled ballads that are both emocore and pop, inhabiting
a land where Simon & Garfunkel and Fugazi meet.
Following the three-song EP The Drowning (Fidler, 2000), his first album,
Swiss Army Romance (Drive Thru, 2000 - Vagrant, 2003), revealing an impressive
melodic talent, despite the spartan acoustic setting
(Screaming Infidelties,
The Sharp Hint Of New Tears,
Living In Your Letters,
Turpentine Chaser,
Again I Go Unnoticed,
Ender Will Save Us All).
The Places You Have Come to Fear The Most (Vagrant, 2001) benefited
from publicity due to his good looks, while the stories of his fragile
singalongs
(The Best Deceptions,
The Good Fight,
The Brilliant Dance,
Saints And Sailors) matched his public image.
The four-song EP So Impossible (2001), with the title-track,
For You To Notice, Remember to Breathe and
Hands Down, completed his maturation, and the better arranged
A Mark A Mission A Brand A Star (Vagrant, 2003)
reached the top of the charts, propelled by the infectious
As Lovers Go,
Ghost of a Good Thing,
Bend and Not Break and Carve Your Heart Out Yourself, and by
a revamped Hands Down.
Vindicated (2004) was the second hit of Carrabba's career after
Hands Down.
Dashboard Confessional was rapidly becoming the best-selling emo act in the USA.
Dusk and Summer (Vagrant, 2006) displayed impeccable pop songwriting
skills in the vein of Vindicated
and Hands Down,
but hardly anything to listen to (Don't Wait, So Long So Long).
The acoustic guitar dominates
The Shade Of Poison Trees (2007), that therefore sounds like a return to
his roots
(Where There's Gold)
with the notable exception of the
piano ballad The Widows Peak.
Alter The Ending (2009)
is mediocre power-pop that retain very little of the original passion.
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(Translation by/ Tradotto da Gioele P. Cima)
I Dashboard Confessional, side-project
ideato in Florida dal cantante e chitarrista Chris Carabba, ex membro
dei Further Seems Forever e dei Vacant Andies, suonano ballate
leziose e ricche di pathos dalle fattezze emocore e pop, appartenenti
alla terra che fece incontrare Simon & Garfunkel e i Fugazi.
Attenendosi alle tre canzoni dell'EP The Drowning (Fidler,
2000), il loro primo album, Swiss Army Romance (Drive Thru,
2000 – Vagrant 2003), rivelò un impressionante talento
melodico, a dispetto di un'impostazione acustica spartana (Screaming
Infidelties, The Sharp Hint Of New Tears, Living In Your Letters,
Turpentine Chaser, Again I Go Unnoticed, Ender Will Save Us All).
The Places You Have Come to Fear The
Most (Vagrant, 2001) trasse giovamento dal buon lancio
pubblicitario dovuto al loro “bell'aspetto”, che li portò
,canticchiando le storie della loro fragilità, (The Best
Deceptions, The Good Fight, The Brilliant Dance, Saints And Sailors)
a imprimere la loro pubblica immagine.
L'EP di quattro canzoni So
Impossible (2001), compreso di title-track, For You To Notice,
Remember to Breath e Hands
Down, completò la loro maturazione, e il meglio arrangiato
A Mark A Mission A Brand A Star (Vagrant, 2003) raggiunse la
cima delle classifiche, spinto dalle contagiose As Lovers Go, Ghost
of a Good Thing, Bend and Not Break e Carve Your Heart Out Yourself,
e da una rinnovata Hands Down.
Vindicated (2004) fu la seconda
hit della carriera di Carabba dopo Hands Down. I Dashboard
Confessional non tardarono a diventare la emo band che vendeva di più
negli USA.
Dusk and Summer (Vagrant, 2006)
mostrò un'impeccabile abilità nello scrivere testi pop
sulla venatura di Vindicated e Hands Down, ma a stento
qualcosa di buono da ascoltare (Don't Wait, So Long So Long).
La chitarra acustica domina The
Shade Of Poison Trees (2007), che dunque suona come un ritorno
alle loro origini (Where There's Gold) con la ragguardevole
eccezione della ballata per pianoforte The Widows Peak.
Alter The Ending (2009) è
un mediocre album power-pop che conserva davvero poco della passione
iniziale.
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