STOLEN - DASHBOARD CONFESSIONAL
Dashboard Confessional’s last album, “Dusk and Summer,” abandoned emo dramas in favor of arena rock, not long after touring with U2. For sunset ballad “Stolen,” Chris Carrabba keeps vocal catharsis to a minimum, sending only a few whispery lines over a soulful, less-is-more groove that unabashedly quotes “With or Without You.” Anyone can write a post-breakup line like “You have stolen my heart,” but Carrabba attacks a generic diary entry with the emotional nakedness of someone burning inside. “Stolen” sounds big, yet feels intimate, showing how the emo godfather has evolved as a songwriter — or how much he has learned from Bono. Billboard
