Jack’s Mannequin - The Glass Passenger (Review)
Album art for The Glass Passenger
Those of you who have read some of the previous articles here at Silent Sound Waves know that if I were to choose just one new album to listen to this entire year before I had heard it, Jack’s Mannequin’s The Glass Passenger would be it. The three odd years we had to wait for Andrew McMahon and the rest of the band’s sophomore album surely did seem like an eternity for all of us who instantly fell in love with Everything In Transit when it came out back in 2005.
When McMahon, the former front man of Something Corporate, was diagnosed with leukemia around the time of the release of the band’s first album we learned not to take new music from our favourite artists for granted. But how does the new album compare to our expectations, and were these expectations exaggerated by our fears of never getting a chance to hear this album?
The album starts out with what could be characterized as a typical Jack’s Mannequin song. Crashin is a catchy, easy-to-like piano-pop tune filled with McMahon’s trademark; smart lyrical phrases such as ” I’m a ghost over ground on parade / the freeway’s just like veins without a heart “. Spinning is much of the same, just better, and it is arguably the most radio-friendly of all the songs on the album.
Andrew McMahon in a promo shot for Jacks Mannequin's latest album
It’s when the third song called Swim starts playing it becomes obvious that this album represents progression both musically and personally for McMahon. The melodious power-pop ballad is about dealing with the hard times in life, and anyone who has ever experienced being sad (meaning everybody) should be able to find inspiration in the words of the song.
The album continues with American Love, What Gets You Off and Suicide Blonde, the former two both being two more solid songs, but the latter I am having a hard time understanding. It just might not be my cup of tea, but it doesn’t seem to fit in very well with the rest of the album and it even gives me connotations to an old Something Corporate song called If You C Jordan, which I’m still not sure I can forgive McMahon for releasing!
This just goes to show that even the biggest of fans can dislike something from their favourites, but enough about that. After this little mishap, the album simply goes from strength to strength. Annie Use Your Telescope is an amazingly beautiful song which sounds just like what I believe looking into a kaleidoscope would. Bloodshot sounds strange at first because it’s quite different from what we’ve come to expect from Jack’s Mannequin, but even though I still after about 100 listens have no idea what the song is actually about, it grew on me, and the chorus really makes the great.
Andrew McMahon in a familiar pose behind the piano at a Jacks Mannquin concert
Fast forwarding through Drop Out - The So Unknown, which I find to be another decent song, but nothing extraordinary taken into account that we are talking about Jack’s Mannequin after all, we’ll find one of the album’s two peaks: Hammers & Strings (A Lullaby). As someone who is constantly deprived of sleep, this song just reaches me on a completely different level than most songs. It sounds just like the thoughts that wander through your head when you lay awake in bed, unable to sleep on account of far too much worrying. The lyrics are amazing as well, such as: ” Lately I’m not dreaming, so what’s the point in sleeping? / To the sleepless this is my reply, I’ll write you a lullaby “. On behalf of all the sleepless, let me just say thank you!
Next is the first single from the album, The Resolution, which seems slightly misplaced on the album because it would fit better somewhere in the first half where the other “typical Jack’s” songs were placed. In my opinion the song is excellent in its own rights, and it certainly represents exactly what I was expecting from this album with Everything In Transit in the back of my mind. The second to last song is called Orphans, and it serves mostly as a transition between Resolution and the arguable highlight of the album which is of course the last song titled Caves.
As McMahon himself said in an interview with AbsolutePunk, Caves is the big elephant on the album, or the cancer song if you prefer. The song is actually more two songs than one, but it makes perfect sense to arrange it like it is, and even after listening to it hundreds of times the transition in the middle still sends chills down my spine. The first part is driven simply by the piano and McMahon’s voice in falsetto, and it admittedly might even sound a little awkward, just like cancer probably feels. It’s still a perfect lead into the second half, which in my opinion is the best thing ever released by Jack’s Mannequin. Full of virile hope it serves as the definite proof that the band is back and better than ever!
The Glass Passenger gets 6 out of 6 Silent Sound Waves
So what’s the verdict then, does the album live up to all the hype and expectation? As a big Jack’s Mannequin fan I am obviously biased, but of course it does. It duly delivers what is expected and even more. This album cements Andrew McMahons place in music today as one of the most talented and diverse songwriters with an ability to write songs based on personal experiences that people with completely different experiences are able to relate to in their own personal way.
PS: If you just can’t get enough of Jack’s Mannequin you should check out the b-sides, meaning the songs that didn’t make it to the album. Cell Phone, In Slow Motion (Sleazy Wednesday) and At Full Speed are all on the In Valleys EP, and additionally Miss California was a bonus track to those who pre-ordered The Glass Passenger, and the last known b-side is called Doris Day was apparantly a bonus track on the Japanese version of the album.
You can purchase The Glass Passenger as a CD or Vinyl LP from Amazon.
