The Shade Of Poison Trees
by Dashboard Confessional
  • Record Label: Vagrant
  • Release Date: Oct 2, 2007
Metascore
68

Generally favorable reviews - based on 18 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 18
  3. Negative: 0 out of 18
  1. The A.V. Club
    83
    He's abandoned the approach [strummy sing-alongs] long enough to realize its every nuance, and such prowess turns a plaintive ballad like 'The Widow's Peak' into something more timeless than a mere emo lament.
  2. Hartford Courant
    80
    These are full-band songs, with prominent piano, and it sounds more like guys playing in a room than the careful construct of a recording studio. That's a good thing.
  3. Amazon.com
    80
    Complete with its complicated lead and sprinkles of string instruments, it lies in contrast to the simplicity and blithe spirit of the record's remaining half-hour--but joins the other 11 songs directly in the wheelhouse of the Dashboard Confessional fervent.
  5. The Boston Phoenix
    75
    A self-conscious return to Dashboard’s acoustic-troubadour roots. The good news is that the mellower sounds don’t come with mellower sentiments.
  6. Stylus Magazine
    75
    Carrabba’s keening grandiloquence may have lost some of its most explicitly cathartic qualities, but The Shade of Poison Trees remains his best work in years.
  7. AllMusic
    70
    Even though Poison Trees loses some steam toward its conclusion, its maturity sets Dashboard Confessional back on track.
  8. The New York Times
    70
    Sometimes one suspects he’s saving his best tunes for the next full-band Dashboard Confessional album. But then comes 'Fever Dreams,' 150 addictive seconds of falsetto and drum machine. It’s reason enough to be hopeful about whatever’s coming next.
  9. Spin
    70
    Sure, there's hurt everywhere, but Carrabba sticks with the pain he knows. [Nov 2007, p.121]
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  10. PopMatters
    70
    Even at their most tragic and at their angriest, most of the tracks on the album are calls to empathy in unexpected scenarios, feeling pain as a means of catharsis and in turn acknowledging the pain in others after turning inward. The results are amazingly beautiful.
  11. Boston Globe
    70
    The Florida native's fifth disc seems less of a struggle for brand identity, but it's still scarred by past glories.
  12. Rolling Stone
    60
    Poison Trees shows Carrabba still can't help peeking back at his past.
  13. Sputnikmusic
    60
    As usual, Dashboard puts out an album with a couple of very good songs, and a bunch of passable filler. Recommended for fans, but still has nothing on what Dashboard used to put out.
  14. NOW Magazine
    60
    Songs like 'Little Bombs' and the title track are evocative of his "So Impossible" EP while also showing a definite maturity without relying on the disappointing FM-friendly electric rock that's marred the band's work in last few years.
  15. Blender
    60
    The result is more than nostalgia: Carrabba imbues all 12 tracks with welcome new tricks--layers of cascading harmonies, a startling falsetto and even a dash of subtlety.
  16. Uncut
    60
    This fifth set strips back the gloss and points to some sort of redemption. [Dec 2007, p.89]
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  17. Entertainment Weekly
    58
    Carrabba's purported back-to-his-roots album (''redeem-o,'' anyone?), offers little evidence that he's matured along with his audience.
  18. cokemachineglow
    50
    The latest Dashboard Confessional album is extremely front-loaded, it should have been an EP, etc.
  19. Q Magazine
    40
    The sugary 'Fever Dreams' and 'Little Bombs' sound threadbare, while glib homilies would shame the writers of Hallmark cards. [Dec 2007, p.115]
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User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 9 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. MikeB.
    Jun 26, 2008
    6
    While "Shade of Poison Trees" does give a good glimpse back into what made Dashboard one of the most beloved bands for the younger While "Shade of Poison Trees" does give a good glimpse back into what made Dashboard one of the most beloved bands for the younger generation, this new album hardly mongers up the emotion that once drove Carraba's songs to "emo" greatness. Songs like "Fever Dreams" and "The Rush" give off some poppy sound that reflect nothing that Dashboard has put off before. Is this a sign of maturity or a sign of another identity crisis that Carabba seems to go through with every new album. The album does have its brightspots. "Where There's Gold" is one of the best lead tracks on any Dashboard album while "These Bones" give a nice reflection back to the mood setting of Dashboard's "A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar" album. "Little Bombs" finally shows the emotion that Carraba is loved for while "Matters of Blood and Connections" is the truest reflection of the earliest and most beloved Dashboard albums. To sum this album up, it's a mediocre identity crisis with a mess of old and new sounds with the old sounds mongering up the best songs on the album. Overall, Dashboard (or Carraba for that matter) need to find one identity that works, and forget about coveted radio-play and focus on the most important thing...the true beauty of good music… Full Review »
  2. NicholasS
    Nov 7, 2007
    5
    I lost faith in Carrabba a while ago (not long before the Spiderman soundtrack). The lyrics are somewhere out of 2000, just some of the worst I lost faith in Carrabba a while ago (not long before the Spiderman soundtrack). The lyrics are somewhere out of 2000, just some of the worst lyrics he has every written. He is trying to be sappy, but totally lost his touch. The music isn't very good either. The songs just aren't catchy, you don't want to hum along. You'll find yourself skipping through tracks trying to find a decent song. Very disappointing.… Full Review »
  3. SamS.
    Oct 18, 2007
    10
    Chris Carrabba rocks any type of album he releases. At first I missed the screaming and intensity of his other albums, but this is probably Chris Carrabba rocks any type of album he releases. At first I missed the screaming and intensity of his other albums, but this is probably the best acoustic album ever released.… Full Review »
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