Swiss Army Romance

Dashboard Confessional

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 22, 2003)
• Original Release Date: April 22, 2003
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Vagrant Records
• ASIN: B00008PX6W
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #44,196 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
2003 reissue of the first full-length hit 2000 album includes two bonus tracks, 'Hold On' & 'This Is A Forgery'. 12 tracks in all. Vagrant.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent CD, August 22, 2003

By	Laurence Doyle "(Actually Simon Doyle)" (Surrey United Kingdom) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I brought this album on a prayer that it would be something special and worthwile listening to. Fortunately, I was not remotely disappointed.
The lyrics running throughout the album are intelligent and heartfelt, and the music passionate and excellent.

1) Screaming Infidelities - 5/5. A brilliant track, both lyrically and musically. Sung with real soul, a very moving acoustic tune.

2) The Sharp Hint of New Tears - 5/5 Another excellent track, with again great lyrical and musical talent. Slightly shorter, and more remenicent of their older vein of music.

3) Living in your Letters - 4/5. Though another excellent song, having heard it a few times over it becomes a little old faster than many of the other tracks on the album. An excellent song nevertheless.

4) The Swiss Army Romance - 4/5. The title track doesn't let it down. A good song, though perhaps with a similar problem to track 3.

5) Turpentine Chaser 5/5. Without a doubt my favourite track on the album, great vocal range from Carrabba, best track lyrically; an overall awesome listen.

6) A Plain Morning - 5/5. Great song, a change from the vocal range and passion from Carrabba, moving to a more relaxed, sedated song.

7) Age Six Racer - 5/5. Short and sweet, the song delivers rosy lyrics with a brilliant acoustic accompanyment.

8) Again I go Unnoticed - 4/5. A distinctly more Emo song, the reason I docked a mark from this was because Carrabba had a poor vocal range on this, as he seemed to struggle to reach the top notes.

9) Ender will Save us All - 4/5. An excellent track, mellow but with passionate singing at times. Perhaps a little too long, my attention tends to wonder after the first four minutes of this plus 5 minute song.

10) Shirts and Gloves - 4/5. This would have been 5 out of five, if I could honestly say it was different from track 6. The chords are almost identical, similar sentiments, but nevertheless a good song.

11) Hold On - 5/5. Lovely mellow song, relaxed vocals going over a recurring plucked pattern - very nice indeed.

12) This is a Forgery - 2/5. One of the few tracks I actively dislike on this album. Carrabba's voice is course, the lyrics, though good, are not particuarly disernable above the loud electronic music and drum machine.

Hidden Track - 3/5. Though a good song, it is a little uninspired, and at times a little boring.

If I could give half stars, this album would rest at four and a half stars. An excellent album, this is a must buy for any fan of this genre, or any acoustic fan at all.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dashboard Confessional "Swiss Army Romance", April 10, 2004

By	Aaron L. (Rome, New York United States) - See all my reviews

"Screaming Infidelities" (5/5): An amazing song, the first single off of his second record "The Places..."
"The Sharp Hint Of New Tears" (5/5): I can't help but sing along with this song.
"Living In Your Letters" (4/5): Really emotional lyrics about a person the songwriter cares about.
"The Swiss Army Romance" (5/5): The title track is superb. Extremely catchy.
"Turpentine Chaser" (5/5): The bridge of this song is so good it gives me the chills.
"A Plain Morning" (3/5): This is not a bad song, just not great.
"Age Six Racer" (4/5): Really touching lyrics and soft background vocals make this one great.
"Again I Go Unnoticed" (5/5): An intensly emotional tune.
"Ender Will Save Us All" (5/5): Another song that is always stuck in my head, i love it.
"Shirts And Gloves" (4/5): This soft ballad is a winner.
"Hold On" (3/5): I don't know why, but this one doesn't do anything for me.
"This Is A Forgery" (4/5): Kind of different for Dashboard, but not bad at all.
"Hidden Track" (4/5): I enjoy the raw feel of this song.

Chris Carraba's first release as Dashboard Confessional is a great album. It was re-released three years after it came out, now with some bonus tracks. The real gems here are the title track and "Again I Go Unnoticed." There are only like one or possibly two songs that i skip through when listening to this. Great effort overall.

Rating: Four stars.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Where's the army?, July 10, 2005

By	Snowboy (Alpena, MICH) - See all my reviews

Swiss Army Romance was released more or less as Dashboard's first album and it comes off as a heartfelt attempt and not a horrible fake album (like most emo bands).

I like Swiss Army Romance. Yes, it's emo, the music usually sounds the same alot, and most of the songs are about the same things, but there is something deeper in these songs that can usually touch you and not let go. Plus this complete collection of acoustic tracks is much better than any one of Dashboard's other stuff.

All-in-all, I think it's worth listen.