Dashboard Confessional
Dusk and Summer
Vagrant
On Dusk and Summer, the perennially introspective Chris Carrabba continues his quest to provide cathartic release for a generation of lovelorn teenagers with his bittersweet and poignant songs of lost love.
It’s a long-established formula –this is Dashboard Confessional’s fifth album– but one that Carrabba seems reluctant to expand upon. Still, if it ain’t broke, why fix it? Certainly, tender reminisces such as the acoustic title track avoid the pitfall of being cloying and clichéd, while “Stolen” shines with heart-wrenching sincerity and “So Long, So Long” features a stellar contribution from Counting Crows’ Adam Duritz.
“Rooftops and Invitations” is a soaring rocker that perhaps hints that a touring stint with U2 has influenced Carrabba’s writing and “Slow Decay” ventures into new sonic territory, with a dirty riff and newfound muscle.
It would be interesting to hear more thematic perspectives from Dashboard Confessional’s lyrics on future albums, but there’s no denying that Dusk and Summer could be the band’s finest effort to date.
Dashboard Confessional: http://www.dashboardconfessional.com
