Twin Forks
Dine Alone Records/Cooking Vinyl Australia
Twin Forks is Chris Carrabba of Dashboard Confessional fame’s latest side project – a four-piece full of uplifting folk tales with a country twist. Carrabba’s exceptional ability to write catchy songs with soaring vocals is still ever present, however, youthful angst is replaced with a touch of revelry. What is still the same is Carrabba’s penchant for writing love songs, never more present than on Kiss Me Darling, a track that also features sometimes fellow vocalist, Suzie Zeldin.
Storytelling is big here, something that Carrabba’s always been good at, however some of the songs here aren’t as personal and are instead tales of yesteryear and Americana. Scraping Up The Pieces and Danger are perfect examples of this third-person style of narration.
The Twin Forks LP is not ground-breaking in any way. However, what it does do is serve as a gateway to folk rock. If someone wanted to get into the genre but didn’t know how, then this album, particularly for Dashboard Confessional fans, would be the perfect one to use to get them there.
While it can certainly be used a stepping stone, even if you have no intention of listening to folk songs with more than a hint of storytelling and yarns of days gone by, this album is downright enjoyable in its own right. Most of all this album proves that Carrabba is an exceptional songwriter no matter which style or genre he chooses to channel.
ALEXANDER CROWDEN
