Jack’s Mannequin
The Glass Passenger

Review By Emily Zemler

It would be difficult to fully understand and appreciate the second album from Jack’s Mannequin without acknowledging singer and pianist Andrew McMahon’s (who essentially is Jack’s Mannequin) back-story. McMahon, who was previously known as the frontman for Something Corporate, was diagnosed with leukemia shortly after the release of Jack’s well-received debut, Everything In Transit, the recovery from which has clearly informed this new album. Much of The Glass Passenger, which has an overwhelming sense of positive energy, seems to be about survival, recovery and learning to live again.

On the slower-paced, piano-driven “Swim” McMahon urgently sings, “I swim to brighter days/Despite the absence of sun/Choking on salt water/I'm not giving in” while the  propulsive, upbeat track “The Resolution” tells us “Yeah I'm alive/But I don't need a witness/To know that I've survived.” Not all of the record is so direct, though. The disc’s catchiest moment comes on the unabashedly hooky “American Love,” which manages to have anyone singing along immediately, remembering a relationship of their own that came to an end as McMahon wails “Big hearts are for breaking” in the chorus. The Glass Passenger is a pop record in the best sense of the term. It’s relatable, catchy, universally engaging- but also rings with a sense of acquired maturity on the part of McMahon. You don’t have to have survived cancer to feel like he’s singing about you, either.