The Good: Vocally smooth, A few lyrics are good.
The Bad: SHORT! Instrumentally dull, Somewhat repetitive.
The Basics: Surprisingly boring, Dusk And Summer is a mellow album with nothing that truly screams "original!" to this listener.
Sometimes, I am so thrilled that my reviews might actually perform a public service that I pretty much forget the substance of the rest of the review until my public service bit is out of the way. My wife recently bought the Dashboard Confessional album Dusk And Summer because she was looking for the song "Vindicated." She checked a few on-line sources which referenced the song as being on Dusk And Summer and she bought a copy on Amazon.com. Unfortunately, when it arrived, she discovered what we have since learned: "Vindicated" is not on Dusk And Summer. In fact, there are no pressings of the 2006 Dashboard Confessional album that DO have that track on it. So, the first public service would be that. The second would be to check tracklists on all albums you purchase when you're buying from the seller.
So, despite not having the song she truly wanted, we cracked open the album Dusk And Summer and it has been in high rotation in the house for a few days now. This was my first experience with the band Dashboard Confessional and while it might not be my last, it did not prepare me for an enthusiastic second helping of the band's works. The reason for that is simple: Dusk And Summer is a very average album in every way I can consider. The music is muted, the vocals are blended and overproduced, the lyrics are largely indistinct and the songs blend together over the course of the album in a way that makes auditory mush.
With only ten songs occupying just under forty-one minutes, Dusk And Summer is fair, but not truly bad and it is very much the work of the band Dashboard Confessional. All of the songs on the album were written by lead singer Chris Carrabba and he performs all of the primary vocals on his songs as well. The rest of the quartet, Scott Schenbeck, John Lefler and Mike Marsh, perform alongside Carrabba to play almost all of the musical instruments that appear on the album. The only aspect of the album the group was not a part of was the production, as the album was produced by Don Gilmore.
On Dusk And Summer, Dashboard Confessional is musically boring. I surmise by listening to this very mundane guitar/bass/drum band that this is not their debut album by simple virtue that with their low-key style of playing it would be unfathomable that any record executive was bowled over enough to give them a recording contract based on this material. While there are keyboards on some of the songs, most of them are very basic songs that sound like any number of garage rock bands with guitar, bass and drums emphasized. The real exception is the title track, which is the ninth on the album, Dusk And Summer, which features a mellow violin thrown into the mix. Largely, though, Dusk And Summer is homogeneously slow and the strumming is more accompaniment to the vocals than anything else. After eight listens to this album, there is not a single tune I could hum or that has managed to get stuck anywhere near inside my head.
That said, the vocals of Chris Carrabba are decent. Carrabba has fairly decent range, though he seems most comfortable in the upper baritone and lower tenor ranges. He harmonizes well on "Heaven Here" and is expressive while illustrating decent lung capacity. Many of the vocals are produced to give Carrabba a smoothness that makes it sound like his singing is unbroken by breathing and the effect is melodic, but also keeps the album from having any real breaks that might make anything on it stand out.
Lyrically, Dashboard Confessional seems to be treading a line close to faith-based pop with songs like "Heaven Here" and "Reason To Believe." Indeed, there is little subtext to the lines ". . . you're always on my heels / Just one more breath, I beg you please / Just one more step, my knees are weak / My heart is sturdy but it needs you to survive . . . I know that you are strong enough to handle what I need / My capillaries scream / There's nothing left to feed on / My body needs a reason to cross that line / Will you carry me there one more time" ("Reason To Believe"). But if Dashboard Confessional is a faith-based pop-rock they are not so blatant as to be unenjoyable to secular audiences.
Indeed, they do a fairly angsty jingle with "Rooftops And Invitations." The teenage angst love song is poetic with good imagery. When they sing "The city longs well for / Rooftops and invitations / All lace and secret places / She moves you to touch / With her hands" ("Rooftops And Invitations") one can almost feel the energy of young love and the uncertainty of it. When the music isn't drowning them out or their vocals are not numbing the mind with their monotonous quality, it seems that Dashboard Confessional has something to say.
Generally, the rhymes on the album are fresh. Despite occasionally rhyming a word with itself - "And she said no one is alone / The way you are alone" ("Dusk And Summer") - Carrabba has songs that are more preoccupied with saying something than making rhyming poetry.
Ultimately, the most distinct thing about listening to Dusk And Summer is the moment it comes to an end. The mellow vocals and instrumentals blend to form a white noise that is intoxicating and when it cuts out, that is when the listener realizes they might have been listening to music for a few minutes prior. This is, alas, not what one hopes for when buying a c.d. and was ultimately my reason for not recommending it.
The best track is "Rooftops And Invitations," the rest of the album truly is not so distinct to even be considered for a weakest track.
For other male groups or artists, please check out my reviews of:
Release - Pet Shop Boys
Number Ones - The Bee Gees
Little Bit Of Everything - Billy Currington
5.5/10
For other album and single reviews, please visit my index page by clicking here!
© 2010 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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