Dashboard Confessional is basically one guy with a guitar and some extra "background" people added in, which makes this an excellent solo effort. You may recognize Dashboard's main man, Chris Carrabba. He broke away from emo/punk band Further Seems Forever and this is what resulted, Dashboard Confessional.
This album is mainly based on love and heartbreak. The album starts with "The Brilliant Dance" which is my favorite song on the CD. It's an awesome song and makes you want to listen to more of the record. "Screaming Infidelities" follows and has more of a heartbreak theme for the lyrics. It's a tad bit more upbeat than the first track, more towards the end of the song.
"The Best Deceptions" is one of the more mellow songs from the album, but heats up as it approaches the chorus. "This Ruined Puzzle" is a sad sort of song, especially when he sings "But I've hidden a note/It's pressed between pages/that you've marked to find your way back/it says, 'does he ever get the girl?'"
Track five is "Saints and Sailors" and it's a more upbeat, happier song. "The Good Fight," follows this same pattern. "Standard Lines," which is track number seven, follows the pattern of many other songs on this CD, where it gets slow and fast in certain parts.
"Again I Go Unnoticed," is probably the fastest song on the album and is another of my favorites. The title track "The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most," is another very good song and has more of an upbeat tempo, plus he puts a little more emotion into his singing as it proceeds. I also enjoy the girl's voice who harps in every once in a while, not just on this song, but through out the album. The last track, "The Bitter Pill," is probably my least favorite song because he gets into a harder, almost scream like voice at the end and it takes away from the song.
Altogether this CD was a good buy. Chris Carrabba is a very good acoustic/emo artist and all of the songs on this album show his talent in one way or another. A good recommendation for those fans of acoustic or emo music.
Amber's Score: 4/5
Other coverage for this album
Decapolis 2001Reviewed by Tom BastianPart of me wishes Chris Carrabba was still with Further Seems Forever. But another part of me is happy that Dashboard Confessional is doing so well. Actually "so well" doesn't even seem to begin to explain how well Chris's Dashboard Confessional is doing. Starting out on Fiddler Records, then moving onto Drive-Thru Records (MCA) then finally ending up on Vagrant Records, Dashboard has something…Decapolis 2001Reviewed by Nate BaileyThe follow-up album to "Swiss Army Romance," this newest release from Dashboard Confessional is fantastic. If you haven't heard Dashboard Confessional before, it's the project of one main guy Chris Carrabba and is predominately acoustic guitar. This time around the music features more drum and bass accompaniment than the first, but if you think that changes things negatively, think again. The…Decapolis 2001Reviewed by JamesIf there is one thing that sets this disk apart from the last four thousand acoustic-driven albums that have come out in the last hour it is this: Carrabba shatters the assumption that "acoustic" means "folk music". Bravo! Dashboard Confessional's latest full-length is testament to the fact that you don't have to emulate Bob Dylan (eat that David Gray) to write stuff that would do well on MTV…The Phantom Tollbooth 2001Reviewed by Ken MuellerHave you ever had your heart ripped out and stomped on? Have you ever been dumped big time? Have you ever had someone you are deeply in love with cheat on you? Ever been told "I only want to be friends, I'm not ready for a relationship?" If so, then you will either love this disc or want to stay away from it at all costs. Chris Carrabba, the driving force behind Dashboard Confessional, has…Similar sounding releases
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