It's not easy being Chris Carrabba. If you write too many tales of life-shattering heartbreak, folks stop believing it. If you grab an electric guitar and rock out with your band, everyone says they liked you better when you were acoustic.

Dashboard try to please both sides with the deluxe edition of "Alter the Ending." The first disc features the whole band, the second reworks each of the 12 tracks into acoustic renditions. Not surprisingly, the stripped down versions work better with Carrabba's shaky tenor. Arrangements aside, both discs feature a collection of good-enough songs, but not many mega-hits. "Get Me Right" finds Carrabba emoting to someone other than a girl (spoiler alert: it's Jesus) and "Everybody Learns from Disaster" has all of the teenage abandon you could ever need.

Though Carrabba and his band may never win, it's nice that they're still trying.