Swiss Army Romance? When you think “Swiss Army”, the first and foremost thought that comes to your mind is the Swiss Army Knife and, if you know your history, you will know that the Swiss are a peace loving people and kept neutral during the major 20th century wars. But at the same time, just because they are not for war, does it mean that the soldiers of the Swiss Army go romancing? I for one don’t think so. But then what is the Swiss Army Romance?

Well, it is a full length album by the “Dashboard Confessional” an alternative rock band. The band was and is led by the singer-songwriter and guitarist Chris Carrabba of Boca Raton, Florida, United States of America together with John Ralston, Mike Stroud, Susan Sherouse, Dan Bonebrake at its conception. The present members are John Lefler on guitar and vocals, Scott Schoenbeck on bass guitar and Mike Marsh on drums and percussion.

When the album was first released it sold just about 1000 copies. It was then re-released in November 14th., 2000 under the Drive-Thru Records banner. Subsequently the rights were made away to Vagrant Records who once again reissued it on April 22nd., 2003, featuring 13 songs and also the bonus tracks of "Hold On" and "This Is a Forgery". This album featured the title song “The Swiss Army Romance”. Another one of the songs is "The Sharp Hint of New Tears" which had the words "On the way home/This car hears my confession" in it and from which the name of the group is derived.

Dashboard confessional Albums

At the end of the year 2007 the band had seven albums, “The Swiss Army Romance”(2000),  “The Places You Have Come To Fear The Most”(2001), “MV Unplugged”(2002), “A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar”(2003), “Dusk and Summer”(2006), “The Wire Tapes Vol. 1”(2007) and “The Shade of Poison Trees”(2007) to its credit with three Gold and one Platinum RIAA certification. Four of these albums have topped the Heat and Indep Charts.

Another special feature of this popular group is that they are known for creating a warm and personal ambiance and their encouragement of audience participation. Chris actually steps away from the microphone to allow the singing of the spectators to be heard. The Unplugged recording brings this out clearly.

“The Swiss Army Romance” can be called a solo endeavor of Chris Carrabba with the full participation of the acoustic guitar and a testimonial to the beauty of this instrument. This album and “The Shade of Poison Trees” also showcase Chris’ ability to write graceful tunes and get to the heart strings of the teenagers. The lyrics and melody of "Screaming Infidelities" and "Living in Your Letters" in the Romance album and the "Where There’s Gold" in the Shade distinctly linger in your mind long after you have heard them.

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