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Chris Carrabba’s Dashboard Confessional is just now starting to take off. The band made recent appearances on Last Call with Carson Daly and David Letterman, and is soon embarking on a major tour with Weezer. With the release of the new EP So Impossible, fans will have four new songs to sing along with.

So Impossible is different from Dashboard’s two LP’s, which were stellar in their own right. The vocals aren’t different; Carrabba is as emotional (and occasionally flat) as ever. The music isn’t different; it’s the same lone acoustic guitar. The difference is in the tone. Dashboard’s previous discs, The Swiss Army Romance and The Places You Have Come To Fear the Most, were sad albums, lamenting a tortured love life. The new EP, however, is optimistic and excited. It’s a new tone from Carrabba, and a
unique change.

The disc is also a concept album. Rather like a happy Pedro the Lion, Carrabba runs through the beginning stages of a relationship. Opener "For You To Notice…" has the protagonist looking at a girl and wishing he could impress her. "Where…every single word I said would come out insightful, or brave, or smooth, or charming, and you’d want to call me." In the title track the girl does call, asking him to a party. After all, she says, "Everyone’s going. I’d be so pleased to see you out of the classroom." Track three, "Remember To Breathe," watches the guy trying to decide what to wear, and beginning to panic. But he catches himself: "Wait. Remember she asked you. Remember to breathe, and everything will be okay." The album closes with "Hands Down," which takes place after the party and provides the emotional high point of the album, as Carrabba sings "My hopes are so high that your kiss might kill me. So won’t you kill me, so I’ll die happy."

The rabid Dashboard fans will quickly snap this album up, of course, but any casual listener would do well to give So Impossible a try. Carrabba’s lyric writing is at its peak, and with emo-pop being hailed as the Next Big Thing, Dashboard is one of the bands that people will recognize for their talent.

John Wilson  7/15/2002