Chris Carrabba's rise to stardom is an interesting jouney of several bands before he finally settled on Dashboard Confessional, where he captured the heart of many teenagers around the globe. This review is not about Chris Carrabba. However, to the distaste of many, Carrabba played an integral part of Further Seems Forever and where they are now.

Further Seems Forver's first cd, "The Moon Is Down" featured Carrabba on lead vocals. He left the band before the cd was even released to pursue his own project in Dashboard Confessional. Critic's heralded "The Moon Is Down" as an amazing accomplishment. There was, however, a dark shadow around the release.

With the announcement that Carrabba had officially left Further Seems Forever, there was fear that no vocalist could take his place. Finally it was settled that a guy named Jason would replace him. The rumors on message boards were filled with two kinds of posts. First, the Carrabba haters who knew that ANY vocalist is better than Carrabba. Then there were those who didn't care who sang, as long as it sounded right. Jason, apperantly, didn't sound right to them. Reports of him sounding terrible in concert made things tenser.

Soon, the Carrabba haters won out and discussion ceaced, but there was still an apprehensive waiting for a new cd. Would it measure up to "The Moon Is Down?" Would it still sound like Further Seems Forever? Then the tuesday release date came and passed.

Now people can judge for themself. The overbearing consensus is that the cd is good. Quite good, actually. For me, "The Moon Is Down" was good, but it was hard to get into. This cd is the same way. Hard to grasp. The vocals of Jason fit in well, and the overall sound is pretty much the same.

Like "The Moon is Down" the cd flows well, making it hard to pick out one or two songs as highlights. Track 8, "Insincerity as An Artform" is really catchy. The first song starts off the cd a simular way "The Moon Is Down" did. Each song is crafted well and proves that Further Seems Forever has a voice outside of Carrabba.

While it won't convince anyone who didn't like "The Moon Is Down" to give Further Seems Forever a 2nd chance, it should be a great snack for current fans.

Dashboard Confessional fans who heard of Carrabba's involvemnt with Further Seems Forever and decide to pick this cd up probably won't like it or understand it. The lack of any "i wish i was anywhere with anyone making out" sing-alongs will turn them off.

peace.