Search - Dashboard Confessional :: Swiss Army Romance

An excellent CD

Laurence Doyle | Surrey United Kingdom | 08/22/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I brought this album on a prayer that it would be something special and worthwile listening to. Fortunately, I was not remotely disappointed.
The lyrics running throughout the album are intelligent and heartfelt, and the music passionate and excellent.1) Screaming Infidelities - 5/5. A brilliant track, both lyrically and musically. Sung with real soul, a very moving acoustic tune.2) The Sharp Hint of New Tears - 5/5 Another excellent track, with again great lyrical and musical talent. Slightly shorter, and more remenicent of their older vein of music.3) Living in your Letters - 4/5. Though another excellent song, having heard it a few times over it becomes a little old faster than many of the other tracks on the album. An excellent song nevertheless.4) The Swiss Army Romance - 4/5. The title track doesn't let it down. A good song, though perhaps with a similar problem to track 3.5) Turpentine Chaser 5/5. Without a doubt my favourite track on the album, great vocal range from Carrabba, best track lyrically; an overall awesome listen.6) A Plain Morning - 5/5. Great song, a change from the vocal range and passion from Carrabba, moving to a more relaxed, sedated song.7) Age Six Racer - 5/5. Short and sweet, the song delivers rosy lyrics with a brilliant acoustic accompanyment.8) Again I go Unnoticed - 4/5. A distinctly more Emo song, the reason I docked a mark from this was because Carrabba had a poor vocal range on this, as he seemed to struggle to reach the top notes.9) Ender will Save us All - 4/5. An excellent track, mellow but with passionate singing at times. Perhaps a little too long, my attention tends to wonder after the first four minutes of this plus 5 minute song.10) Shirts and Gloves - 4/5. This would have been 5 out of five, if I could honestly say it was different from track 6. The chords are almost identical, similar sentiments, but nevertheless a good song.11) Hold On - 5/5. Lovely mellow song, relaxed vocals going over a recurring plucked pattern - very nice indeed.12) This is a Forgery - 2/5. One of the few tracks I actively dislike on this album. Carrabba's voice is course, the lyrics, though good, are not particuarly disernable above the loud electronic music and drum machine.Hidden Track - 3/5. Though a good song, it is a little uninspired, and at times a little boring.If I could give half stars, this album would rest at four and a half stars. An excellent album, this is a must buy for any fan of this genre, or any acoustic fan at all."

Dashboard Confessional "Swiss Army Romance"

Aaron L. | Rome, New York United States | 04/10/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Screaming Infidelities" (5/5): An amazing song, the first single off of his second record "The Places..."
"The Sharp Hint Of New Tears" (5/5): I can't help but sing along with this song.
"Living In Your Letters" (4/5): Really emotional lyrics about a person the songwriter cares about.
"The Swiss Army Romance" (5/5): The title track is superb. Extremely catchy.
"Turpentine Chaser" (5/5): The bridge of this song is so good it gives me the chills.
"A Plain Morning" (3/5): This is not a bad song, just not great.
"Age Six Racer" (4/5): Really touching lyrics and soft background vocals make this one great.
"Again I Go Unnoticed" (5/5): An intensly emotional tune.
"Ender Will Save Us All" (5/5): Another song that is always stuck in my head, i love it.
"Shirts And Gloves" (4/5): This soft ballad is a winner.
"Hold On" (3/5): I don't know why, but this one doesn't do anything for me.
"This Is A Forgery" (4/5): Kind of different for Dashboard, but not bad at all.
"Hidden Track" (4/5): I enjoy the raw feel of this song.Chris Carraba's first release as Dashboard Confessional is a great album. It was re-released three years after it came out, now with some bonus tracks. The real gems here are the title track and "Again I Go Unnoticed." There are only like one or possibly two songs that i skip through when listening to this. Great effort overall.Rating: Four stars."

Excellent

kelzie | 06/23/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The CD may be my favorite of Dashboard Confessional. The songs are lyrically and vocally beautiful and earnest. My favorite songs are:2. The Sharp Hint of New Tears- I love, love, love the lyrics of this song, for example: "My sighs they ring victorious and fog this tinted glass... It's clouded, and so is my head."
3. Living in Your Letters- Beautiful song: "I'm living in your letters, breathe deeply from this envelope, it smells like you and I can't be without that scent, it's filling me with all you mean to me."
5. Turpentine Chaser- May very well be my fave, with it's intense lyrics about a relationship- "And the frightening facts we've been facing our backs to for so long now are begging for eyes to bear witness to lies and indifference."I really like the rest of the songs as well. The only song I don't care for on the extended CD would have to be "This is a Forgery". It seems very un-Dashboard Confessional to me in a musical sense; lyrically it seems to be on target for Chris Carrabba, the singer and writer.All in all, The Swiss Army Romance is a CD for DC fans or simply for fans with a love for great lyrics and acoustic guitar-driven melodies."