Dashboard Confessional
A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar
On Sale Now
For $11.48

How exciting! We’re watching a band grow here. Am I the only one who cares? Dashboard Confessional has come out with a new album, A Mark. A Mission. A Brand. A Scar, and people are taking notice. I actually happen to be a fan of the band in addition to a critic, so I have taken note of the reviews. The ever-finicky Rolling Stone magazine even gave it a favorable review. In addition to that I’ve seen widespread publicity on MTV and airplay on my local stations. Looks like Chris Carraba and the band are coming into its own.

I of course had to refer to my review of their previous release, The Places You Have Come To Fear The Most, and see what I was thinking back then. In a nutshell, that album revealed Chris Carraba as a very passionate singer who rocks on an acoustic guitar, but “the album lacks in musical variety and lyrical depth”. To get back to my opening thought, with this most recent release, we are seeing a band, rather man, who has grown in his musical outlook. (On a side note, I am conflicted between calling Dashboard a band or man. However, for the sake of this review, we’ll call them a man since Chris Carraba is the brains behind this operation.) Anyway, I think what separates this newest release is that the music is more fulfilled and appealing to a larger audience. I initially tabbed DC for a niche audience whereas A Mark. A Mission. A Brand. A Scar could reach a larger audience. That does however raise the question as to whether Chris has lost that thing that made him original. It’s a fine line between improving, elaborating and selling out. In this scenario I’ll chalk it up to improving. After all, it’s still the same lyrics, message and angst. Where would we be without the angst?

The first track is also the first release off the album. Fans of the band should know “Hands Down”. I first heard it on the live MTV album. Shocker this fun song is about dating teenagers. I actually don’t know how old Chris is, but if he’s not 18, he may be a pedophile. Just kidding! I crack myself up. This is a good, poppy song but not nearly the best on the album. I am often mystified by the songs that are chosen to be the first release off of an album, but what are you gonna' do? However, moving on, track 3 “As Lovers Go” is a personal favorite. You can really sense a different flavor from the band musically, despite the lyrics. “I'll be true, I'll be useful... I'll be cavalier...I'll be yours my dear.” This song definitely has that mass appeal I was talking about, it is actually harmonic. Don’t get me wrong I like his voice, but to be honest it can be whiney. That’s not the case with “As Lovers Go”. Keep your ears pealed for this one.

The mid-section of this record is really strong. In addition to “As Lovers Go”, track 5, “Bend and Not Break”, and track 7, “Am I Missing”, are both true miracles. I actually think track 5 should’ve been the original release. A real work of art that anyone could appreciate- “Try to understand, there is an old mistake that fools will make/And I’m the king of them, pushing everything that’s good away/So won’t you hold me now? I will not bend, I will not break/Won’t you hold me now? For you I rise for you I fall”. This song epitomizes the improvement I described. This song is distinctly DC with the lyrics and emotion. The difference lies in the way the music turns to make it more elaborate. “Bend and Not Break” gets a gold star. Lets not forget track 7. While 5 is a more complete song, I actually tab 7 as my favorite. “I Am Missing” hums like a heartbeat. I absolutely love the layered vocals over the chorus. I came from this album with a new perspective of DC. I think most people will tend to lean towards #7 as their favorite as well. It just has that feel-good rhythm.

To my pleasant surprise, this CD has a full 13 songs unlike the first release that only sported 10 tracks. I like to think of each song as a member of a team. Some are stars like 3, 5 and 7. Others are role players. For instance, track 8, “Morning Calls” is okay, but it has its bright spots. I love these lyrics; “Don’t blink/Everyone’s watching/They’ll think that you’re up to something/They need for you to be everything/that they cannot be themselves”. In fact, I would say every song on the album is solid. If I were a betting man, I’d take A Mark. A Mission. A Brand. A Scar in a fight over The Places You Have Come To Fear The Most any day. What the heck am I talking about? Oh yes, good songs. I don’t want to drone on in a monotonous fashion struggling for witty things to say about each song, so I’ll wrap this sucker up ASAP. Track 13, “Several Ways To Die Trying”, ties together the album beautifully. A lovely ballad indeed. The chorus in particular is compelling, check it out- “Tonight, they’re burning the roads they built to lead us to the light/And blinding our hearts with their shining lies/while closing our caskets cold and tight/But I’m dying to live”. Anyway, it’s a nice conclusion to an excellent record.

I guess if nothing else we can say that this album is better than the last. If you could say the same for most bands I think we would all be most pleased. I don’t know if this is technically their sophomore album since they’ve got so many other LP’s and singles, but there is no slump. Dashboard is a band on the rise and if you’re lucky to be reading this you already knew that. I hope I have the opportunity to look back on this review when their next album comes out and say to you that Chris has matured lyrically as well. He showed glimpses on this record. Either way I’m a reinforced fan and you will be as well. Buy it today my friend, buy it today. Chris Carraba gives his album 5 stars!

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