Dashboard Confessional – Dusk and Summer • Page 2

Thank you.

Does any songwriter love summer as much as Chris Carrabba? Dude has written at least three great summer albums.

It's interesting: 2003 didn't yield any of my favorite albums in the scene. All of my favorites seemed to come out between 2004 and 2009. But yeah, in terms of classics that are always cited as influential albums/all time favorites, 2003 was pretty massive.

I'm not too worried. I've heard good things about the other new song they're playing on tour, and "May" was a weird vocal melody that's tough to nail live. I think whatever the new Dashboard album sounds like, it'll be enjoyable.

Here's hoping! Would love to encourage some people to revisiting this one.

There are three songs on Poison Trees that I love, and I literally do not care for any of the others. I think the Twin Forks album was a much more successful return to an acoustic sound--albeit, in a completely different vein from early Dashboard.

As for the best version of "Stolen," the album one, by far. I don't even understand why a different version was necessary for radio.

Thanks! Sounds like we're pretty similar in our "DBC class." I came aboard with A Mark and definitely think the electric albums are better than the acoustic ones. With that said, the best songs from those early records are really fucking good. Even though the best version of "The Best Deceptions" was actually the live version that was included as a bonus track on some versions of Dusk.

Haha, I love this.

Did they put the other version on later versions of the album or something? That version never even made it onto my hard drive. Haha

Definitely relate to this. It was one of those albums that was always comforting for me. Still is.

I'd love this on vinyl. It was part of that mid-2000s wave where fucking nothing got pressed.

Oh man, I think you'll love a lot of stuff on here. Report back!

 

Yellowcard and Good Old War come to mind. Unless you're talking just one person, in which case maaaybe Andrew McMahon, but that's a hard case to make.

Haven't gotten around to reading this yet, but will do so today. I'm a huge fan of this album.

 

I remember when i first got the album when it came out, it had the slow version. After video came out with the fast version it seems that all released copies had the fast.

 

Yeah, I think Yellowcard are the other ones. Andrew McMahon came to mind, but I really only think of one of his records as a true "summer" album.

 

Weird, my CD has the slow version. The one on iTunes is the sped up one. I prefer the fast one.

 

Also, laughing my ass off now because the version of the Scrubs scene I linked is somehow sped up even more and dubbed in Spanish. Hahahaha

 

Yeah, I can still justify playing North during the summer as well, but aside from that and EIT there's not much.

 

Not crying. Definitely not crying...(ok, I'm so crying). Beautiful review, Craig. I'm one of those who never really gave anything after A Mark,... a chance, but it sounds like I'm going back and listening through Dashboard's discography today.

 

Great write up! Each DC album is special to me in their own way, even if one is stronger or more beloved than another (yes I still enjoy TSoPT). Twin Forks has some catchy tunes and I absolutely adore The Moon Is Down and Penny Black. I was fortunate enough to do the VIP experience with Chris for ToC in Tampa, and while I was expecting him to be a smug musician, he was very down to Earth, approachable and insightful during his acoustic/Q&A set. His voice has definitely improved and the strongest it's ever sounded live compared to the TEB tour last year/past live videos. Also, he's been performing a new song called Heart Beat Here from the upcoming record and it sounds pretty promising.

 

Weird. Yeah, I think the slow version is much better. Captures the lovelorn feel of the song much better, imo.

Yeah, I can't listen to all of them pretty much any time of year. But EIT and maybe TGP are the only ones I ever pull out for summertime drives or anything like that. People & Things and the Wilderness album are definitely fall records, though.

Thank you so much for reading. Sorry if I made you cry at work or something.

 

I got to interview him a couple years ago for Twin Forks. Incredibly nice guy. Very humble and enthusiastic about his art. I agree he sounds great live, even though some people seem to think he's wrecked his voice at this point. "Heart Beat Here" is great.

 

Really don't like this album, haha. Honestly the only one I feel that way about. Don't Wait and Stolen are both just TOO cheezeball for me, and the latter half of the album is forgettable for me, every time I listen to the album I forget I've ever heard any of those songs

 

Great write up! I never really thought this album had a bad reputation but I've enjoyed every album of his. Vindicated might be my all time favorite dashboard song and that's coming from someone who started with his "classics".

 

Yes, we know Steve, I thought of you once or twice while writing about the Dashboard fans who hate this album.

 

it was a long time ago. my hard original hard copy is long gone. maybe I am confusing the digital version with the physical version. Guess I can't be to sure. I just remember looking all over the place only and not finding it and listening to a friends version and them not having the right version either.

 

I feel special now!!!

 

The weirdest thing about this album, that I still not not understand at all, is that there is not one, but TWO hidden pre-gap songs, including the huge hit Vindicated. So much about that still confounds me

 

This write-up made me get teary-eyed at work, but it's okay. I love emotional writing like this. Thanks for sharing.

 

Man, great stuff!

Really descriptive and poignant. Keep it up.

Also, revisited this album and I liked it much more than I used to. Thanks!

 

Great write-up, Craig. It really is amazing how maligned this record was when it came out. For me, the album starts out fantastically and keeps up that momentum until the trio of "So Long, So Long," "Currents," and "Slow Decay," and then it hits a rough patch. I just could never get into those songs and still can't to this day. But then "Dusk and Summer" and "Heaven Here" are so good that it almost makes up for it.

For an album with only 10 tracks, having three not land really drags it down for me. That's probably why I don't love it as much as pretty much every other Dashboard release (except maybe for The Shade of Poison Trees, which I'm fairly certain I've never even listened to all the way through). A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar is probably still my favorite full-band Dashboard album (which may or may not be because it is the only one that still feels like one of his singer/songwriter albums) but this one definitely gets more hate than it deserves.

Oh, and the slow version of "Stolen" is so much better. It literally kills me that I don't have it anymore My OG copy of Dusk and Summer from 2006 was destroyed along with the rest of my CD collection in Hurricane Sandy.

 

Fantastic piece. Also think "Dusk and Summer" is one of the top 3 - if not the best - Dashboard song.

Alter the Ending is easily the best Dashboard record IMO.

 

No worries! I always cry at work. I'm just happy today it was for a happy thing.

 

Still doesn't seem to show up for me?

The left screenshot is what I see in this thread - just the Don't Wait single. Whilst the right image shows the albums that's streamable on their page.

Don't suppose it could be region specific? I'm from the UK if that helps. But chances are, I've done something dumb and don't realise lol. Thanks anyway.

 

Dang, great piece. Great album, too.

 

thanks for sharing your experience @Craig Manning, that was great to read.