Dashboard Confessional

Chris Carabba (ex Further Seems Forever) blew people away with the "Swiss Army Romance". Released late in 2000 by Drive Thru Records, it sent all the press back to the drawing boards for their "Top Releases Of The Year".

Chris' amazing voice and great, heartfelt songs won him quite a following in little time. Only months later Chris was signed to Vagrant Records. Barley a month later, Chris is about to release his second full length, "The Places You've Come To Fear The Most".

There are a few notable changes on this new album. The biggest change you'll notice is that there are a few songs that have more than just acoustic guitars. Songs like "Saints And Sailors" and "The Good Fight" feature bass and drums which is a nice change in pace. However, Chris has not abandoned his acoustic at all. Most of the other songs are acoustically based.

"The Places You've Come To Fear The Most" also contains brand new versions of "Screaming Infidelities" and "Again I Go Unnoticed". "Screaming Infidelities" features a section of bass and percussion added in after the first verse. I feel this is a superb new version of one of my favorite songs. With the add-on of more instruments, it comes off more rockin' than the original. "Again I Go Unnoticed" also contains more of an up beat tempo then the original thanks to the addition of the bass and percussion. 

Song number three, "The Best Deception" just amazes me. On a personal note, I would like to say that its utterly scary how much these lyrics connect with me and my life. This is why I like artists like Chris, the music means so much more if its able to connect with you. Besides the lyrics, the song itself is great. Chris once again uses his strong voice to his advantage and delivers on all fronts.

The last song "This Bitter Pill" is an emotion packed song. Towards the end of the song, Chris is literally screaming at the top of his lungs, letting all the emotion out. Its really something you have to hear for yourself. One of the best closers I've heard in some time.

There really is not one bad song at all on here. You get eight new songs (10 if you count the new versions of "Screaming Infidelities" and "Again I Go Unnoticed"). I can assure you that if you thoroughly enjoyed and were amazed by "The Swiss Army Romance" (who wasn't?) you will not be disappointed by this new album. This is the first of the many new and exciting releases from Vagrant Records for 2001.