Chris Carraba and Dashboard Confessional began with an acoustic album back in the early 00s, so it’s safe to say that their new acoustic and eighth studio album is an extension and a reminder of that time. The opening track of All The Truth I Can Tell, “Burning Heart” is a testament to that era as Carraba coos “Everywhere I go/I feel the same damn burning heart” as he wears his feelings on his sleeve as if nothing has changed from the start of the band’s career.
“Here’s To Moving On” is a song about just that. It touches upon moving on from an argument in Carraba’s sensitive soft songwriting. “Here’s to being right/here’s to being wrong/here’s to letting go/here’s to moving on” is a bold statement that makes a clean break from a fight. At just about the album’s midpoint, a dash of drums is brought in, elevating Truth with “Better of Me”.
“Southbound and Sinking” sparks a vision of a Dashboard concert with the crowd chanting back the lyrics as the guy is head over heels with this woman in this quaint relationship ditty. Carraba sings desperately “I fell for you/you’re like this magnetic force….with this ridiculous notion that you’re gonna fall for me.”
The album’s closer is a dedication to Carraba’s growth as a singer. “All The Truth That I Can Tell” also covers his relationship with his band mates and fans, respectively. His detailed lyrics about pacing back and forth before heading out on stage feels like this is his most honest point in the album with his lyrics almost feeling like an open diary to his fans. The tune details the experiences on stage with Dashboard is incomparable and leaves his listeners with goosebumps for sticking by his side all these years.
Dashboard Confessional’s All The Truth That I Can Tell finds Carraba and Co. continuing to hold the torch for emo as if it never went out. This album holds that light, even though it might be dimmed after all these years, shows that there is a place for them still in the ever-changing popular landscape of music.
Rating: 7.5/10
