'Glass Passenger' Chronicles Singer’s Cancer Battle

By Broadside Correspondent Rachel Palting

Life for Andrew McMahon, lead singer of Jack’s Mannequin, has been far from typical since he started his musical career. In 2002, At the age of 19, he debuted his first full-length album with his previous band, Something Corporate. Leaving Through the Window was pop-based and upbeat, leaking with piano-based hooks and memorable choruses from songs such as, “Punk Rock Princess” and “If U C Jordan.”

A year later, Something Corporate released North, an album with evidence that the band had matured as artists by shying away from their initial pop-friendly formula and attempting an alternative sound. By age 23, he introduced his first solo project, Jack’s Mannequin, with the album Everything in Transit. That same year, he was diagnosed with leukemia.

September 30 marked the release of Jack’s Mannequin’s second album, The Glass Passenger on Sire Records. McMahon conveys his emotions and struggles with cancer throughout the 14-track album, which includes the bonus song “Miss California.” The new record is a contrast to band’s first album and like North, the record departs from the pop-laced hooks for a more mellow, more mature sound.

The record begins with “Crashin,” an upbeat guitar and piano driven track, in which McMahon cries out for his plain desire for music. In the track, he seems to ponder whether or not he’d come out of his battle with cancer able to come back to being an artist. “Even if my voice comes back again, maybe there’ll be no one listening,” he sings. Well, we’re all listening again, McMahon.

The next song, “Spinning,” has a heavy and melodic beat, conveying a sense of confusion and dizziness. In contrast to the first two tracks, “Swim” follows with a slow tempo, allowing listeners to focus on the lyrics, which encourage listeners to keep going through life, even when no hope is in sight. “The currents will pull us away from our love just keep your head above,” he says.

McMahon temporarily leaves behind his cancer-related experiences and emotions to sing about love and sex in “American Love” and “What Gets You Off.” By using contrasting melodies and keys during “Suicide Blonde,” it seems that McMahon has created two separate songs between the chorus and verse. He also experiments with echoes in his vocals in “Annie Use Your Telescope” as if to convey a sense of distance between himself and the person addressed.

“Hammers and Strings (A Lullaby)” shows an introspective, almost nostalgic side to McMahon. The lyrics “These hammers and strings/Been following me around/From a box filled garage/To the dark rock punk clubs,” seem to reflect back upon his musical journey so far.

The first single off the album, “The Resolution” is a powerful, piano-driven anthem of hope. McMahon seems to relate his victory over cancer through singing, “I’m alive, but I don’t need a witness to know that I survive.”

The eight-minute epic song of the album, “Caves,” begins as a haunting recollection of McMahon’s lonely time in a hospital room. The song picks up, three minutes later, with a cascade of piano melodies layered upon each other, building up and fading into a much happier tune. However, the subject of his loneliness still remains. “The walls are caving in/The doors got locked for sure/There’s no one here but me,” sings McMahon.

The mastermind behind Jack’s Mannequin would not let his second album end on such a melancholy note, however. Therefore, “Miss California” is typical of McMahon’s classic pop-driven style, singing about his love of his home state.

McMahon has undoubtedly matured musically and lyrically during the past three years and though oddly contrasted in some spots, The Glass Passenger, is an overall successful sophomore effort by Jack’s Mannequin.