To many people, Chris Carrabba is just another heavily-tattooed guy on the street.
But to scores of Abercrombie-clad-fans going through the first or last throes of teenage angst, he is the cult idol.
These are the hardcore fans who have packed small venues to see Dashboard Confessional for years now.
These are the hardcore fans whose sing-a-longs at the concerts are unparalleled.
Released on indie label Vagrant Records with a promotional boost from major player Interscope, “A Mark A Mission A Brand A Scar” is poised to carve an intense place for itself with fans and new listeners alike.
Originally the sole member of Dashboard Confessional, Carrabba has acquired a band.
Though he plugs in for several songs, he retains only his acoustic guitar on most.
The drums, bass and additional guitars that the band provides give a more powerful stamp to the oft-complex, if occasionally unoriginal, lyrics, and they add a rock edge to the songs.
Dashboard Confessional is just one of several just-under-the-radar bands that has been tagged with the “emo,” or emotional, label.
Emo is basically a genre that characterizes bands that relentlessly pour out their souls through lyrics and focus on melodies to make the songs more powerful.
Dashboard Confessional started its odyssey in the music world with the 2000 record “The Swiss Army Romance,” and followed up with its breakthrough album, “The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most” in 2001.
MTV promptly took notice and put the single “Screaming Infidelities” into rotation on its stations.
After slipping onto the Billboard top 200 chart, MTV gave Dashboard Confessional an unprecedented chance to play a session for its Unplugged series, and an Unplugged album followed.
“A Mark A Mission A Brand A Scar” is the band’s fourth album and it is produced by Gil Norton of The Pixies and Foo Fighters fame.
A cursory glance at the liner notes leads you to think that the lyrics are not the most inspired (“I was so lost, but now, I believe”).
But Carrabba’s earnest delivery makes you feel the emotion and honesty in each of the songs.
The album begins with the driven, upbeat “Hands Down” and doesn’t let up until the very end, with the tour-de-force “Several Ways to Die Trying.”
Carrabba’s voice moves from strained screaming to soft hints of a whisper, which expertly displays his vocal range. Its easy to see how anyone who picks up the record could relate to each song.
In “Am I Missing,” Carrabba questions, “Is there anything worth looking for? Worth loving for? Worth lying for?”
Who hasn’t been where Carrabba is at one time or another?
The themes in Carrabba’s songs encompass all stages of love, such as the bitterness of finding out that your lover isn’t who you think in “Rapid Hope Loss” and the excitement of possible new love in “As Lovers Go.”
These songs are so heartfelt and freshly familiar that you’re a more restrained person than most if you can resist the urge to sing along.
