Dashboard Confessional

Item: So Impossible
Author: Peter Rimby

So Impossible

(2001)

Reviewed by Peter Rimby

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Label Vagrant RecordsDecapolisJanuary 2002

acoustic emo

The new Dashboard Confessional EP; "So Impossible," is a turn in a new direction for Chris Carrabba and his new collaborator Dan Hoerner (formerly of Sunny Day Real Estate). This EP, for the most part, has a different sound to it than the past Dashboard Confessional releases. In a way it is reaching back to the roots of Dashboard "Swiss Army Romance" by excluding the bass and drums that were included in "The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most". But this is also a step into the future by including Dan Hoerner on guitar. Dan Hoerner most definitely brings feelings of Sunny Day Real Estate into this record. The amazing guitars in such SDRE songs such as "Rain Song," "The Ocean," and "How It Feels to be Something On" are now a part of the writing for Dashboard. His talent and experience as a great musician have been brought into this project to take it to the next level. Great picking parts fill in the gaps and give the songs a new fuller feeling. This can be seen throughout the EP except on the song "Hands Down," which was written before he joined.

Dan Hoerner is not the only one that has made this record an improvement for the band musically, but Chris has made some improvements himself. Chris' vocals have gone up a notch on this release. He has learned to control his voice better and opens it up more giving it a better sound as seen on the 2nd track, "So Impossible." His voice no longer sounds strained when he holds out notes, but is now more controlled and steady. (sorry to those girls who buckled at the knees when he did this at shows) I admit, it is a new sound compared to his previous releases but I soon became used to it and like it better. Two songs that I liked in particular are "For You to Notice" and "Remember to Breathe." "Remember to Breathe" has great builds in the music that coincide perfectly with the emotion of the vocals and lyrics. It makes you feel the panic of the guy about to go on a date and leaves you wondering what happened.

This release is in my opinion some of the best work that has come out of Dashboard Confessional. It is more mellow than his previous releases but it is still catchy and has good heartfelt lyrics. The band has matured musically with this release. But I'm sure despite this some fans will not like it. I encourage you to not go down this path. Even if you were a fan of the drums and bass I still suggest getting this. It's a good buy that's well worth it.

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