The Shade of Poison Trees

The Shade of Poison Trees
Studio album by Dashboard Confessional
Released October 1, 2007 (UK)
October 2, 2007 (U.S.)
Recorded March 2007
Genre Emo, acoustic rock
Length 33:44
Label Vagrant
Producer Don Gilmore[1]
Dashboard Confessional chronology
The Wire Tapes Vol. 1
(2007)		 The Shade of Poison Trees
(2007)		 Alter the Ending
(2009)
Singles from The Shade of Poison Trees
  1. "Thick as Thieves"
    Released: 2007
  2. "These Bones"
    Released: 2008
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic(68/100)[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
Absolutepunk.net86%[3]
Allmusic[4]
The A.V. ClubB+[5]
Entertainment WeeklyC+[6]
PopMatters[7]
Rolling Stone[8]
Spin(7/10)[9]
Sputnikmusic(3/5)[10]
Stylus MagazineB[11]
Uncut[2]

The Shade of Poison Trees is the fifth studio album recorded by the band Dashboard Confessional. The album in its entirety was posted on the band's MySpace page on September 28, 2007, and it was released on October 2, 2007 on Vagrant Records. This album was very much kept a secret, with no news of its development leaking out. The official Vagrant announcement, released on August 16, 2007, stated that The Shade of Poison Trees has been recorded over 10 days in Florida with producer Don Gilmore, who also takes credit for the production of Dashboard Confessional's previous album, Dusk and Summer.

The Shade of Poison Trees is heralded as a return to form, so to speak, breaking away from the electric, full band sound of their previous two albums and returning to the acoustic sound that Carrabba was previously known for. However, the album is unmistakably more mature, as the songs sound similar to their more recent work, yet without the heavily produced style. The album comes a little over a year after the release of Dusk and Summer.

"Thick as Thieves" was released as the first single off the album in August 2007. On August 22, 2007, the band posted "Little Bombs" on their MySpace page. On September 25, the band added "Keep Watch for the Mines" to their MySpace page; later that evening, the album leaked on the boards of the band's official website. As of September 26, 2007, the album leaked onto the Internet.

"These Bones" was Dashboard Confessional's second single off the album and was released December 3, 2007. Following its release, The Shade of Poison Trees debuted at number 18 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling about 48,000 copies in its first week.[12]

"Thick as Thieves" music video

On September 7, 2007, Chris Carrabba posted a video message on his MySpace blog, inviting his fans to create a music video for the song "Thick as Thieves". The submitted entries will be checked, and the winning director wins a prize of $2,500 cash, two VIP tickets to a Vagrant gig of their choice, and a "Golden Ticket" to any and all Dashboard Confessional concerts in the next year.

Track listing

All songs written by Chris Carrabba.

  1. "Where There's Gold" – 2:29
  2. "Thick as Thieves" – 2:19
  3. "Keep Watch for the Mines" – 2:46
  4. "These Bones" – 2:59
  5. "Fever Dreams" – 2:30
  6. "The Shade of Poison Trees" – 2:58
  7. "The Rush" – 3:51
  8. "Little Bombs" – 2:33
  9. "I Light My Own Fires Now" – 2:54
  10. "Matters of Blood and Connection" – 2:24
  11. "Clean Breaks" – 2:59
  12. "The Widows Peak" – 2:58

Bonus tracks

  1. "The Only Gift That I Need" – 2:09*
  2. "Tonight I'll Take What I Can Get" [re-recorded] (iTunes pre-order bonus track) – 2:57
  3. "Tonight I'll Take What I Can Get" (original acoustic version) – 4:24*

"*"UK bonus tracks

Reception

Chart performance

The Shade of Poison Trees debuted at number 18 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 48,000 copies in its first week.[13]

Chart Peak
position
US Billboard 200[14] 18
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[15] 4
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[16] 1
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[17] 6

References

  1. ↑ Don Gilmore credits at Allmusic
  2. 1 2 Critic reviews at Metacritic
  3. ↑ AbsolutePunk.net review
  4. ↑ Allmusic review
  5. ↑ The A.V. Club review
  6. ↑ Entertainment Weekly review
  7. ↑ PopMatters review
  8. ↑ Rolling Stone review at the Wayback Machine (archived October 24, 2007)
  9. ↑ Spin review
  10. ↑ Sputnikmusic review
  11. ↑ Stylus Magazine review
  12. ↑ Katie Hasty, "Springsteen Is Boss Of Album Chart With 'Magic'", Billboard.com, October 10, 2007.
  13. ↑ Harding, Cortney (October 16, 2007). "Dashboard Rewards Core Fans With New Album". Billboard. Retrieved December 2, 2013.
  14. ↑ "Dashboard Confessional – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Dashboard Confessional.
  15. ↑ "Dashboard Confessional – Chart history" Billboard Top Alternative Albums for Dashboard Confessional.
  16. ↑ "Dashboard Confessional – Chart history" Billboard Independent Albums for Dashboard Confessional.
  17. ↑ "Dashboard Confessional – Chart history" Billboard Top Rock Albums for Dashboard Confessional.

External links

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