Dashboard Confessional - Alter the Ending Review

Posted by Daniel Wilcox on 11.18.2009

Dashboard abandon its traditional emo sound for some that should appeal to a wider audience, but was it a step in the right direction?



Dashboard Confessional - Alter the Ending
Review by Daniel Wilcox

Chris Carrabba – vocals
John Lefler – guitar
Scott Schoenbeck – bass
Mike Marsh - drums

Track listing:
1. Get Me Right
2. Until Morning
3. Everybody Learns From Disaster
4. Belle of the Boulevard
5. I Know About You
6. Alter the Ending
7. Blame it on the Changes
8. Even Now
9. The Motions
10. No News is Bad News
11. Water and Bridges
12. Hell on the Throat

Dashboard Confessional was doing emo a fair few years before emo ever became the cool thing amongst the world’s youth. Sure, their fans may have ran in droves to newer acts like Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance, but at the end of the day there is no one out there that does break-ups and heartache like Chris Carrabba does. The guy just has a knack for it and always has done. But that really does not shine through on this, the band’s sixth studio album. Carrabba and co. Shot to fame as a band with some pretty good acoustic ballads, but for the most part, that acoustic is nowhere to be seen on Alter the Ending.

There are, however, one or two moments of genius that fans of the band will be used to and will find comforting. “Even Now” stands head and shoulders above any other song on this record, its minimalistic approach sounding even more refreshing when found amongst a bunch of over-produced pop songs that just cannot be defended. “Even Now” is downbeat and melancholy, Carrabba’s quite soothing vocal playing over a solo guitar, reminding fans of the troubled but true poet they once loved. But that is, unfortunately, one of very few highlights to be found on this record.

The album starts off promisingly enough, with a quite interesting and intricate little guitar line on “Get Me Right.” Soon enough though, it becomes apparent that the band has evolved, but probably not in a good way. The lyrics are typically sad but uninspired and pretentious, much like the music itself. Part of the appeal of this band was that Carrabba used to sound like he was just pouring his innermost thoughts and emotions into a microphone, perhaps in the secluded privacy of his bedroom. Back then, Dashboard Confessional records had an intimacy about them that is simply non-existent these days.

Nowadays, most tracks on Alter the Ending suffer from overproduction, clichéd lyricism and too much of a reliance on technology. It’s not about not wanting a band to progress and grow, but why fix what isn’t broken? These are the kind of tracks that the non-emo kids tease the emo kids about, but the emo kids can really have no defence. These songs rely on every pop cliché known to man, and are somewhat sad to see a band that was once beloved by many (although hated by more at the same time), essentially sell out to something all the more conventional.

That said, hope is not entirely lost if you’re a fan of the band willing to shell out on a deluxe copy of this album. The deluxe version comes with a bonus disc featuring acoustic versions of all twelve songs, and while it still may not measure up to some of the band’s past recordings, it is significantly better than the standard edition tripe present here. It does a much better job of showcasing the vocal, which is by far the best thing about this band and always has been.

But this isn’t a review of the deluxe version, which means I can only point how part of the problem, possibly the biggest part, is that the band seems to be trying too hard – overproducing everything in hope that they will stumble across one or two massive choruses that’ll help them move as many records as some of their competitors have in recent years. But not only did they not find too many such choruses, but they also failed to make too many songs that long time fans will really enjoy. Don’t get me wrong, there are some exceptions, but even they don’t match the quality of “Screaming Infidelities” and the like. Avoid, or get the deluxe version.

Essential downloads: “Belle of the Boulevard,” “Even Now” and “Hell on the Throat.”

The 411: While this is a band that has always had its detractors, it is also one that had it's fair share of people who consider them a guilty pleasure, and a hell of a lot of that was because of the honest and gritty sound created by Carrabba and co. That gritty sound is gone and as a result so too is the relevance of Dashboard Confessional. The band's worse album to date, and a clear sign that bands like this should stick to what they do best.

Final Score:  4.0   [ Poor ]