Sep 3

Sep 3 Dashboard Confessional - All The Truth That I Can Tell

Dashboard Confessional
All The Truth That I Can Tell
Release Date: February 25th, 2022
Label: Hidden Note Records

Review by Jared Stossel

While 2020 was a rough year for the entire world, it ended up being a particularly terrifying year for Chris Carrabba, the man behind acoustic-alternative act Dashboard Confessional. A debilitating motorcycle accident sidelined Carrabba, leaving him unable to play the instrument that had sustained his livelihood for the last two decades. But you know how the old saying goes; you can do anything if you set your mind to it. Within two years, not only did Carrabba make a full recovery and re-learn to play the guitar, but he also managed to write and record All The Truth That I Can Tell, another autobiographical entry in the singer-songwriter’s impressive career, and his eighth studio album overall. Truth finds Carrabba at his most stripped-down, with nary a full band appearance to be found except on two tracks. He’s kept it as straightforward as he possibly can, using every song as a diary entry on the road to recovery.

The album’s first entry, “Burning Heart”, features a chorus that’s reminiscent of 2018’s “Heart Beat Here”. An upbeat, folky guitar strumming pattern as Carrabba reminisces on a past relationship, wondering where it all went wrong. “Everything Else Is Just Noise” is a song about overcoming hardships in life. To me, it feels like this is one of two tracks on Truth most inspired by the accident that occurred in 2020. The lyrics “But they move all the pieces when my eyes are closed/And everything feels out of order” brings images of surgery and moving in and out of operating rooms to mind. And yet, he’s only focused on one thing: the voice of the love of his life. Everything else is just noise.

“Here’s To Moving On” is a call to action, a declaration that hardship won’t keep him down, as he sings “Here’s to feeling alive again/here’s to picking yourself off the floor/Here’s to waking up/Here’s to sleeping well for once” in a harmonious chorus. This track precedes the full-band entry “The Better of Me”, a pulsating drum beat accentuating Carrabba’s guitar strums and lyrics about the regretful moments that come with the end of any relationship. One of the album’s best tracks, “Southbound and Sinking”, evokes memories of early emo acts like Taking Back Sunday. Carrabba sings in a higher register, almost on the verge of shouting lyrics about falling in love.

The centerpiece of All The Truth That I Can Tell lies within two tracks: “Sleep In”, a love letter to Carrabba’s wife, and “Me and Mine”, a love letter to his children. They’re heart-achingly beautiful songs, and some of the most intimate pieces of music Carrabba has ever presented on a Dashboard album. There’s a lightness to Truth, acting as the glue that holds everything together. Carrabba’s been through a lot; he’s reflecting on the small moments, whether it’s walking hand in hand with his wife at 3 AM to get old coffee at a diner, or watching his children play in the yard. He’s reveling in the small, peaceful moments that make up life.

Carrabba moved to Florida in his teenage years, and “Sunshine State” is an ode to this chapter of his life, singing out to those he once knew (“Feels like I’m fighting/To hold onto something dear/Too many friends I loved/Let go when things got real”). “Pain Free In Three Chords” is a deeply self-reflective piece, discussing the pain of his earlier accident while also coming to grips with the reality of mental and emotional difficulties (“Maybe things don’t have to be so hard/I just have to fall apart/How tough could that be?”) It’s the only other full-band composition on the album, and one of its most powerful moments.

The penultimate track “Young” finds Carrabba plucking delicately at his acoustic guitar, digging deep into memories of lost love, how time is the great shifter of perspective. “Without a doubt/I was absolutely sure that you/Were the one/But I was young/And you were young/We were young/Now I am not young/I am not foolish in the way that I once was”. Every single person reading this has gone through a moment like this in our lives, and I would bet money on it.

The album’s title track acts as the conclusion to the album, performed in the same gentle nature as “Sleep In” and “Me and Mine”. Light pianos fill out the space in the background as Carrabba pens a journal entry, one that was most likely written on the road or in reflection of touring. “My friends are playing now/Oh man, how they sound/And my nerves burn until I’m numb” speak on the moments of insecurity that comes with performing. But at the end of the day, when all the bands part ways and head home, he calls her. She’s home. “And I find solitude/and I call home to you/And you call me your secret name/And I say what a show” indicates that home is wherever she is. Carrabba can share so many stories and secrets with the audience; he’s done so throughout his incredible career. But at a certain point, there comes a line between being a storyteller and a husband and father. He’ll share many stories with us, for years to come. But when he finds home, there’s only so much we’ll know. For what seems like the first time in a long time, Carrabba has found solace.