Dashboard Confessional, "The Shade of Poison Trees" (Vagrant)
Chris Carrabba, the one-time emo king better known as Dashboard Confessional, returns with "The Shade of Poison Trees." However, unlike 2006's more upbeat — and somewhat rollicking — "Dusk and Summer," Carrabba ditches the band and returns to his stripped-down roots, strapping on the acoustic guitar and returns to his glory days.
On one hand, this is a welcome arrival for diehards; on the flipside, Carrabba, now 32, still sounds like that sad, frustrated teenager singing of gloom, doom and conflicted relationships instead of the maturing man he really is. Lyrics like "I've had enough of your forked tongue / How do you know when the cuts are deep enough? / I know you like your stabs / Your pre-emptive attacks" from "Little Bombs" run rampant throughout the album — to the point of tedium. While "Poison Trees" is quintessential Dashboard, with the dour lyrics and acoustic spunk, it might actually be time for Carrabba to ditch the sad sack approach and grow up.
