Jack’s Mannequin – The Glass Passenger
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Jack’s Mannequin – The Glass Passenger

“Everything in Transit” by Jack’s Mannequin is played at least every two weeks in my car. Why? Because I think it’s a great album, lots of fun, and easy to sing along to. This leads us to today, two weeks after their sophomore LP “The Glass Passenger” has been released, and I have had ample time to form some opinions on Andrew McMahon’s latest and greatest. 
    

1 Crashin’
2 Spinning
3 Swim
4 American Love
5 What Gets You Off
6 Suicide Blonde
7 Annie Use Your Telescope
8 Bloodshot
9 Drop Out – The So Unknown
10 Hammers and Strings (A Lullaby)
11 The Resolution
12 Orphans
13 Caves
14 Miss California (bonus track)  

The cover for The Glass Passenger has Andrew McMahon on the front and almost the same photo with the full band on the back. This cover is a fitting depiction that the success of Jack’s Mannequin and this album all hinge on the capacity of Andrew to write, play, compose, and produce. Andy excels at all of these things and would get straight A’s, but something is still missing: Heart. 
 

The album starts off Crashin with “I wanna hear some music/Now that they’re drivin’ us all underground” and its simple drum beat, beautiful piano, guitar riffs, and the backup vocals of Stacy Clark. We are then swept into the police-like intro of the solid rock track Spinning with it’s predictable verse-chorus-bridge radio single style, done well. I wish the chorus for American Love never existed. Big hearts, big hearts. Big hearts are for breaking. I’m all for repetition when it’s something worth saying, accompanied by gang vocals, has great instrumentation, or a melody worth remembering, but this chorus has none of the above. 

 

“Suicide Blonde” is the closest thing to songs off “Glass Passenger” on this album. The lyrics, guitars, and piano all closely resemble tracks from JM’s debut album, and “Suicide Blonde” sounds very similar to “I’m Ready”, which may be a good thing. From “Suicide Blonde” to the end of the album I think is the better part of the record, with more interesting instrumentation and lyrics than in the first five songs. “Hammers and Strings” prove to us once again that Andrew McMahon and a just a piano are worth listening to, even if it’s a song about just that, him and a piano. This ballad has a simple story, great vocals and piano parts bringing enough more emotion than found in the whole first half of the album. The drums, extra vocals, and synth serve no purpose here and really aren’t needed.

 

“The Resolution” is a solid rock song with relatable lyrics and maybe the only recognizable bass parts in the whole album. This single should get you moving and singing along by the second chorus and serves its’ purpose well. Caves may be my favorite track on this album, starting soft and beautiful mid-song becoming rocky and fun after a great storybook piano bridge just after the 3 minute mark. The way this track blends the three parts into one cohesive piece is a show of McMahons’ competence in composition and production. The album truly should have ended here, whoevers idea it was to throw the “Bonus Track” of “Miss California” onto the end tainted the beauty of Caves. Miss California is a good song, it just didn’t belong after the perfect album-ending Caves. 

 

The drums and bass on this album have really been placed in the corner to watch the vocals, piano, and guitar take center stage. Now back to the beginning. This is a good album, just missing some heart. It’s well produced, written, and is a collection of solid rock tracks than anyone can enjoy (and no Explicit Lyrics this time around). Andrew put a big chunk of cash on the line to make “Everything in Transit” and wrote the JM debut album for the fun of it, bringing all of his fans along for a enjoyable ride, this album could use just a pinch more fun, a dash of passion, and a bit more heart. 

 

Rating: 7.5/10
Standout Tracks: Spinning, Resolution, Caves