''Crooked Shadows'' is the seventh studio album by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Dashboard Confessional Dashboard Confessional is an American rock band from Boca Raton, Florida, led by singer Chris Carrabba. The name of the band is derived from the songThe Sharp Hint of New Tears off their debut album, '' The Swiss Army Romance''. History Early ...

. It was released on February 9, 2018 through

Fueled by Ramen Fueled by Ramen LLC is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by 300 Elektra Entertainment. The label, founded in Gainesville, Florida in 1996, is now based in New York City. History John Janick conceived of the l ...

and

Dine Alone Records Dine Alone Records is a Canadian and American independent record label, founded in St. Catharines and Toronto by Joel Carriere. The label is now based in Toronto, Nashville and Los Angeles. History Dine Alone was born out of founder Joel Car ...

. It is their first studio album in nine years, following 2009's ''

Alter the Ending ''Alter the Ending'' is the sixth studio album recorded by American rock band Dashboard Confessional, released through Vagrant, DGC and Interscope Records on November 10, 2009. The album was released in both a one disc standard version and a ...

''. The album debuted at number 53 on the ''Billboard'' 200, as well as number four on both the ''Billboard'' Rock Albums and Alternative Albums charts.

Release

On November 15, 2017, "We Fight" premiered on

Beats 1 Apple Music 1, previously branded as Beats 1, is a 24/7 music radio station owned and operated by Apple Inc. It is accessible through iTunes or the Apple Music app on a computer, smartphone or tablet, smart speaker (such as the Apple HomePod ...

. Alongside this, ''Crooked Shadows'' was announced for release in February the following year. On December 18, a music video was released for "Belong", directed by Joe Zohar. Two days later, a music video was released for "We Fight", directed by David Mack. In early January 2018, the band performed the track on '' Conan''. On January 19, "Heart Beat Here" was made available for streaming. ''Crooked Shadows'' was released on February 9 through

. In February and March 2018, the group embarked on a headlining US tour with support from

Beach Slang Beach Slang was an American rock band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, formed in May 2013. The band underwent several line-up changes, with lead vocalist/guitarist James Alex serving as the band's leader, figurehead, chief songwriter and sole ori ...

. In August, they went on a co-headlining US tour with

All Time Low All Time Low is an American rock band from Towson, Maryland, formed in 2003. Consisting of lead vocalist/rhythm guitarist Alex Gaskarth, lead guitarist Jack Barakat, bassist/backing vocalist Zack Merrick, and drummer Rian Dawson, the band to ...

. A second leg was planned to follow in September and October, however, the day before this was to start, the band pulled out of a few days due to Carrabba dealing with a family emergency. Four days later, the group pulled out of the second leg entirely. On November 15, a music video was released for "Just What to Say", directed by Ryan Hamblin.

Critical reception

''Crooked Shadows'' was met with "mixed or average" reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, this release received an average score of 57, based on 9 reviews. Aggregator Album of the Year gave the album 60 out of 100 based on a critical consensus of 9 reviews.

Track listing

Personnel

Chris Carrabba - lead vocals, guitar, keyboard Armon Jay - guitar, backing vocals Scott Schoenbeck - bass, keyboard Chris Kamrada - drums, percussion

Charts

References

{{Authority control Dashboard Confessional albums 2018 albums Fueled by Ramen albums