Whether he likes it or not, Christopher Carrabba is quickly becoming the voice for all the lonely, disaffected male souls in the world. It’s pretty safe to say that any guy who’s ever been jaded, cheated on or just plain ignored by a girl can immediately relate to Chris and his songs. Carrabba makes it all sound so sincere, so true to life and so easy. Essentially, he says all the things that we can't bring ourselves to say.
The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most is Carrabba’s first release for Vagrant Records, not to mention his first since leaving Further Seems Forever. Following closely in the footsteps of its predecessor, The Swiss Army Romance, The Places... once again finds Chris baring his soul, armed with little more than an acoustic guitar and his thoughts and feelings about life, loss and love.
The first track, "The Brilliant Dance", is so gorgeous it just might make you cry, especially if you’ve recently experienced the end of a relationship. I'm not talking about wussy emo kid crying, either, but whack-you-over-the-head style real-world relevance. The record's running theme is the jilted lover’s revenge, with titles such as "The Best Deceptions", "The Good Fight" and "This Bitter Pill" suggesting a healthy dose of relationship knife-twisting. But unlike most punks-turned-troubadours, Carrabba masks his venom with tunes that leak loveliness from every pore. "Standard Lines" and "This Ruined Puzzle" sway gently, buoyed by Chris’ frantic acoustic strum and layered vocal histrionics.
Two songs from The Swiss Army Romance appear on The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most in substantially reworked form. "Screaming Infidelities" and "Again I Go Unnoticed" are now fully orchestrated, with drums, bass and piano used to accentuate a mood of urgency and fear. These fleshed-out renditions only add to the soul-baring demeanor of the originals, and they are, in a word, breathtaking.
If you have a fucking pulse, you simply must own The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most. I can’t really think of any stronger a recommendation than that. Guys, your therapy sessions begins here.
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