Jack's Mannequin

Ever wonder where Hollywood get all those emotional, pull-at-your-heartstring, light rock ballads that fill random Dawson's Creek episodes, romantic comedy break-up scenes and the majority of John Cusack flicks? Jack's Mannequin knows and has compiled several similar tear-jerking, yet ultimately inspirationally uplifting moments into their newest wax platter, The Glass Passenger.

A musical accompaniment to his hard-fought and eventually won battle with Leukemia, Mannequin founder/singer/songwriter Andrew McMahon swoons and croons his way through a number of heartfelt tunes on the band's second full-length release. A strong sense of honesty permeates from the tunes on The Glass Passenger, as Jack's Mannequin takes jangly guitars, melodic piano and even more melodic vocals and structures them into singable little works of art. Mostly devoid of the expected pretention that can typically ruin odes to heartache and heroics such as these, standouts such as "Crashin,'" "American Love" and "Bloodshot" are all highly accessible in both the emotional and aesthetic sense.

As with any light rock, emotive release, The Glass Passenger does carry an air of exaggeration along with it that can tend to tug a little too hard at the old heartstrings, but this isn’t a group that overdoes things to the point of annoyance. What they are good at is crafting memorable tunes that last well beyond their playing time.

– Ryan Ogle
09.30.08

Andrew McMahon made his exit from Something Corporate in 2004 and launched Jack's Mannequin the following year, funneling his taste for sun-kissed power pop and piano-fueled ballads into Everything in Transit. The album was a strong, cohesive effort from a songwriter who previously sailed beneath many critics' radars, but McMahon's success provided little relief from his plummeting health. He was diagnosed with leukemia two months before the album's release, and a series of chemotherapy treatments prevented him from supporting Everything in Transit with a proper tour.

Three years later, McMahon (now cancer-free) returns with his much-anticipated second album. Like Something Corporate's own sophomore effort, The Glass Passenger captures McMahon during a darker period -- understandably so, given his recent history -- and the introspective tone sometimes pales in comparison to the summery songs that graced Everything in Transit and Something Corporate's debut, Leaving Through the Back Window. There's pain here -- morphine drips, decreased sex drives, and the like -- and McMahon tackles those difficult subjects bluntly and tactfully. "What Gets You Off" deals with the recovery of his libido, even if the song sounds somewhat flaccid until the chorus' arrival, while "Hammers and Strings (A Lullaby)" is a vintage, waltzing ballad that serves as a pledge to McMahon's returning fans. "To the sleepless, this is my reply," he sings, "I will write you a lullaby." From the woozy, theatrical elegance of "Caves" to the orchestrated "Annie Use Your Telescope," ballads account for a big portion of The Glass Passenger, yet some of the album's best moments still occur during the faster songs. "Spinning" is a surging pop/rock gem, simple enough to become the most instantly recognizable song on the disc, while "American Love" and "Bloodshot" are flecked with buzzing synths and other New Wave flourishes. The Glass Passenger might not bare the same pop hooks as Everything in Transit, but it does stay afloat under the weight of McMahon's past, which bodes well for the songwriter's future work. ~ Andrew Leahey, All Music Guide