Dusk and Summer - Dashboard
Sounds like Chris Carrabba took notes when his band opened for U2 last fall. On “Dusk and Summer,” Dashboard Confessional’s first full-band studio effort in three years, the specter of Bono hovers over his impassioned pleadings, which move from shivery falsetto to operatic sweep. And while U2 producer Daniel Lanois collaborated on only a few songs, his sonic vision shines through all 10 tracks. The midtempo opener “Don’t Wait” sends an impossibly simple hook over a classic U2 beat, while the delicate “Stolen,” the album’s best cut, unabashedly echoes “With or Without You.” Slower paced and more atmospheric than any of its predecessors, “Dusk” is an ambitious showcase of maturity. However, the “Shrek 3″-ready piano ballad “So Long, So Long,” featuring Counting Crows’ Adam Duritz, will make longtime fans cringe and yearn for the bygone man-with-guitar days.
