The Shade of Poison Trees

The Shade of Poison Trees
A graphic of a dark red apple with a splatter at its base on a yellow background
Studio album by Dashboard Confessional
Released October 2, 2007 (2007-10-02)
Recorded March 2007
Studio Bieler Brothers Studio; The Dungeon
Genre Emo
Length 33:44
Label Vagrant
Producer Don Gilmore[1]
Dashboard Confessional chronology
The Wire Tapes Vol. 1
(2007)The Wire Tapes Vol. 12007		 The Shade of Poison Trees
(2007)		 Alter the Ending
(2009)Alter the Ending2009
Singles from The Shade of Poison Trees
  1. "Thick as Thieves"
    Released: October 2, 2007
  2. "These Bones"
    Released: 2008

The Shade of Poison Trees is the fifth studio album recorded by the band Dashboard Confessional.

Production and composition

The Shade of Poison Trees had been recorded over 10 days in Florida with producer Don Gilmore and engineer Mark Kiczula. Recording took place at Bieler Brothers Studio with assistant engineer Matt LaPlant, and at The Dungeon with assistant engineer Joe Williams. Gilmore mixed the recordings with help from Kiczula, at Bieler Brothers Studio. George Marino mastered the recordings at Sterling Sound.[2]

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.

Release

On August 17, 2007, The Shade of Poison Trees was announced for release, and "Thick as Thieves" was made available for streaming via the group's Myspace account.[3] "Thick as Thieves" was released as the first single off the album in August. On August 23, the band posted "Little Bombs" on their Myspace page.[4] On September 7, 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 winning director wins a prize of $2,500 cash, two VIP tickets, and a "Golden Ticket" to any and all Dashboard Confessional concerts in the next year. From mid-September to mid-November, Carrabba went on a solo US tour[3] with support from Augustana and John Ralston.[5] On September 25, the band added "Keep Watch for the Mines" to their Myspace page.

The album in its entirety was posted on the band's Myspace page on September 28, 2007, and it was released on October 2 on Vagrant Records.[3] "Thick as Thieves" was released to radio on October 2.[6] In November and December, the band went a brief arena tour in the UK with Maroon 5.[7] "These Bones" was Dashboard Confessional's second single off the album and was released December 3, 2007. In late January 2008, the band went on a brief tour of the UK.[8] In April, the band went on another tour of the UK. "Thick as Thieves" was released as a single on April 14.[9] In October and November, the band co-headlined the Rock Band Live tour with Panic! at the Disco. They were supported by Plain White T's and the Cab.[10]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic68/100[11]
Review scores
SourceRating
AbsolutePunk86%[12]
AllMusic[13]
The A.V. ClubB+[14]
Entertainment WeeklyC+[15]
PopMatters[16]
Rolling Stone[17]
Spin7/10[18]
Sputnikmusic3/5[19]
Stylus MagazineB[20]
Uncut[11]

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.[21][22]

Track listing

All songs written by Chris Carrabba.[2]

  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

Personnel

Personnel per booklet.[2]

Charts

Chart Peak
position
US Billboard 200[23] 18
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[24] 4
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[25] 1
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[26] 6

References

  1. ↑ Don Gilmore credits at Allmusic
  2. 1 2 3 The Shade of Poison Trees (Booklet). Dashboard Confessional. Vagrant/Hassle Records. 2007. VRUK064CD.
  3. 1 2 3 "Dashboard Confessional to release album Oct. 2". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. August 17, 2007. Archived from the original on March 19, 2017. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
  4. ↑ Wippsson, Johan (August 23, 2007). "Dashboard Confessionals New Song "Little Bombs," Up On Myspace". Melodic. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Max Bemis making five-stop appearance with Dashboard Confessional". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. August 27, 2007. Archived from the original on March 19, 2017. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
  6. ↑ "AllAccess.com Alternative eWeekly". AllAccess. September 25, 2007. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Dashboard Confessional to tour U.K. with Maroon5". Alternative Press. July 24, 2007. Archived from the original on August 28, 2016. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Dashboard Confessional announce intimate U.K. shows". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. December 12, 2007. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Dashboard Confessional announce U.K. shows, single". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. January 23, 2008. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Rock Band goes on tour". Alternative Press. Alternative Press Magazine, Inc. July 30, 2008. Retrieved July 23, 2017.
  11. 1 2 Critic reviews at Metacritic
  12. ↑ AbsolutePunk.net review
  13. ↑ Allmusic review
  14. ↑ The A.V. Club review
  15. ↑ Entertainment Weekly review
  16. ↑ PopMatters review
  17. ↑ "Rolling Stone review". Archived from the original on October 24, 2007. Retrieved November 4, 2012.
  18. ↑ Spin review
  19. ↑ Sputnikmusic review
  20. ↑ Stylus Magazine review
  21. ↑ Katie Hasty, "Springsteen Is Boss Of Album Chart With 'Magic'", Billboard.com, October 10, 2007.
  22. ↑ Harding, Cortney (October 16, 2007). "Dashboard Rewards Core Fans With New Album". Billboard. Retrieved December 2, 2013.
  23. ↑ "Dashboard Confessional Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  24. ↑ "Dashboard Confessional Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard.
  25. ↑ "Dashboard Confessional Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard.
  26. ↑ "Dashboard Confessional Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard.
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