A contemplative, but serene gaze out of the window, as a hazy half-smile plays on the corner of the lips. Half a memory aligns with the story that is playing in the ears, but it has its own shade and hue, something the same but different, but definitely and absolutely connected. ‘Me and Mine’, the second song in a breathy, intimate, quietly sung middle of the album  causes pause to reflect. A simple song about children, how being a parent as your kids grow up can be, it’s about closeness… And it is genuine. 

“Since we’re being honest for the first time in a long time…” offers Chris Carrabba on the first song – on the face of it a straight-forward and repetitive offering relying on a returning chorus hook – but he could be talking about a relationship, or, and this is what seems to hit most, he is talking about Dashboard Confessional itself. Having released just one new album in the previous twelve years, and having stepped back from trying to force things, All The Truth That I Can Tell (Hidden Note/AWAL) feels honest. And it is all the better for it. 

Returning to the vintage Dashboard style, the one that has always worked best, stripping out the full-band experience and presenting songs as a voice, or voices – the backing vocals from Abigail Kelly on ‘Here’s To Moving On’ (and others) provide a gilded edge – and acoustic guitars, all minimalistically and perfectly captured by producer James Paul Wisner who was responsible for recording The Swiss Army Romance (Fiddler Records) and The Places You Have Come To Fear The Most (Vagrant Records), this is the best Dashboard… album since those twenty years have passed. 

While the title track ushers quietly in to close matters out on a plaintive, whispered and contemplative note, All The Truth… is not a wallow, nor is nostalgia, even if the early tracks in particular remind of how influential he has been on acts like Creeper…. By celebrating the success of the stripped down presentation and line-up, and by bringing things back to the core theme of honesty, Carrabba has tapped once again into something that really works, even if he can’t keep the odd cliche out of the lyrics. There is plenty of brightness to the music, too. ‘Sunshine State’ picks up the American rock side of things, strapping the acoustic to its back, checked shirt and blue-jeans, latter-day Bon Jovi story telling, a tradition that ‘Everyone Else Is Just Noise’ and ‘The Better Of Me’ carry on, while ‘Southbound and Sinking’ is a strummed anthem with earnest vocals. 

Indeed, one thing that is clearly evident is that, by stepping back from the bells and whistles and distractions of profuse productions, not recording in a full band style, and bringing things back to basic songs and honest thoughts, Carrabba has found his voice and sound again.

Buy the album here: https://amzn.to/3hbDouC

8 / 10

STEVE TOVEY

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