Jack's Mannequin's much-anticipated new album "The Glass Passenger," a follow-up to its debut "Everything in Transit" (2005), feels a bit lackluster in comparison to the band's first piano rock foray. The reflective piano notes and punk-sounding vocals are still in sync on the new disc, but the magic of the musicians' interaction is shattered this time around.
Andrew McMahon, the indisputable star of the band, began with the group Something Corporate, back in the days when he was just a carefree, pop-punk kid with wild blonde hair and flip flops. When the band took a breather in 2004, McMahon formulated his own side project, a little Orange County piano-rock breakthrough called Jack's Mannequin.
McMahon continues his self-reflective style in this new disc, but even die-hard fans might find something missing in the 14 melodies presented in "Glass Passenger." The first song on the disc, entitled "Crashin," calls for the music that fans of the young band have been anticipating since its first album. "I wanna hear some music/ I have been waiting down here for so long," McMahon croons. We've been waiting too, so show us what you've got.
Unfortunately, this plea for more tunes segways into a mere shadow of great songs like the hit single "Dark Blue" off the band's debut album, "Everything in Transit" (2005). If we place "Dark Blue" on one side of a balance scale, its appropriate opposite might be the new track "Swim." The poignant piano notes we heard so strongly in "Dark Blue" are lost in the more synthesized and slightly more monotonous melody of the new song.
Instead of lyrics that are anonymous and understandable but still verge on mysterious ("Have you ever been alone in a crowded room?"), the words in "Swim" explicitly describe McMahon's battle with leukemia: "Swim for the music that saves you when you're not so sure you'll survive.../ You haven't come this far to fall off the earth." At the same time, he throws in lines like "Swim for the lost politicians who don't see their greed as a flaw." Listeners wonder what he is talking about. The ideas become disjointed, held together only by the water that floods a series of incomplete thoughts.
The problem with most of the tracks on "The Glass Passenger" is that McMahon no longer makes his songwriting seem California-casual. Melodies that would normally showcase his skill on the piano keys lean more toward the synthetic and manufactured sounds of groups like The Click Five. Sugary pop mixed with lyrics meant to evoke McMahon's struggles leave his words sounding hollow and his otherwise tender voice strained.
"Hammers and Strings (A Lullaby)" is the clearest example of this flatness. In a song that should be full of passion, the message is far too obvious -- McMahon even includes his own name -- and his voice borders on whiny. Songs like "The Resolution" and "Annie Use Your Telescope" have solid melodies but fall short of lyrical success. Clichés abound in lines like "I need a light in the dark as I search for the resolution," while most phrases in "Annie Use Your Telescope" are simply too vague for the listener to enter the space of the song.
The difference between Jack's Mannequin's freshman and sophomore efforts is clear even in the titles of the albums. Both chronicle a part of McMahon's journey, but "Everything in Transit" keeps the focus on the motion and the music itself, leaving the lyrics accessible. "The Glass Passenger" takes on the subject of the journey rather than the abstract musings that come with it, pushing preachy words that ultimately overlook the audience.
McMahon has locked himself in a glass case in this album, causing him to abandon the authentic energy he had in his solo debut. In "Crashin," he says "Even if your voice comes back again/ Maybe there'll be no one listening." Jack's Mannequin fans are certainly listening, but it's not the same passionate voice they are used to hearing.
