Twin Forks (EP)

Twin Forks

Dine Alone Records, 2013

http://www.twinforksmusic.com

REVIEW BY: Tom Haugen

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 12/19/2013

That first Further Seems Forever album (2001’s The Moon Is Down) is probably one of the favorites for that decade. Sure, it can be overly sappy, sometimes bordering on cringe worthy, but it is just so sincere and the faster songs are flawless emotive '90s rock. Anyone who wished Dashboard Confessional had a bit more muscle should check it out. my_heart_sings_the_harmony_web_ad_alt_250

When Dashboard Confessional began (which was the solo project of the frontman on The Moon Is Down, Chris Carrabba), I tried it on with good results. That initial album and a couple early EPs were decent. Back then, the whole sad punk guy with an acoustic guitar schtick was still an interesting concept. As Dashboard Confessional became more successful, I found their subsequent albums less interesting, to the point of where I never even made it through the last couple.

Now there's Twin Forks. Carrabba has aligned himself with a member of Bad Books, which is a huge selling point for someone like me (the first Bad Books record saw more rotation than all of DC's albums combined). He also brings in female vocals, mandolins, bluegrass feelings and some foot stompin' fun. Opener "Back To You" is a testament to this newfound fun – a hand clappin', back porch party song that is smiles all the way around. The middle tracks "Something We Just Know" and "Cross My Mind" point more toward the early days of Dashboard Confessional with personal themes, and while musically not as jubilant as the first tune, still keep their spirits upbeat. Near the end "Can't Be Broken" picks the pace up with soft female backing vocals, and it exits how it enters with the "Scraping Up The Pieces,” a folksy anthem with plenty of sing-a-long portions.

When Carrabba left his full band for the Dashboard Confessional moniker he was doing something that wasn't common in the punk and hardcore community. Here he's doing something that nearly everyone over 30 who used to play punk is doing – going folk, mellowing out, channeling his inner Springsteen, Dylan, Simon, whatever you want to call it. The difference is that Twin Forks is extremely good at it.

Rating: B+

User Rating: Not Yet Rated


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