 "Photo: Special to The Daily Gamecock")
After fully recovering from leukemia, Andrew McMahon, lead singer and founder of piano rock band Jack's Mannequin, aims to made a comeback with a second release- "The Glass Passenger" (Sire Records, 2008).
Former member of punk-pop quintet Something Corporate, McMahon formed Jack's Mannequin as a side project. The band's successful first release, "Everything In Transit" (Maverick Records, 2005), debuted at No. 37 on the Billboard Top 200 chart.
McMahon said the current album is more about holistically reconciling his past than recovering from cancer.
"'The Glass Passenger' is not about recovering from cancer," McMahon said in a news release. "It's just about recovering. I was trying to use the music to sort through and reconcile the adversity of my past."
McMahon delves into the topic of recovery in "The Resolution." The pathos throbbing track reveals his inner conclusion in the chorus: "I'm alive and I don't need a witness to know that I survived/ I'm not looking for forgiveness, I just need light ... in the dark as I search for the resolution."
"Crashin," "Swim" and "Drop Out - The So Unknown" show off McMahon's excellent chops in rock piano arrangement. McMahon carries his piano-rock experience from Something Corporate and delivers a solid variation of background and heavy key parts to the heart of these tracks.
"Annie Use Your Telescope" has a really unique melodic blend with vocal overlaps and a more prominent string section. The track's style stands out as a mix between The Killers, Jump Little Children and Death Cab For Cutie.
More up-tempo tracks "Spinning" and "Bloodshot" have a more guitar-involved, rock band focus. McMahon naturally adjusts his vocals to a harder style in these tracks, and demonstrates his vocal versatility.
Other favorite "Hammer and Strings (A Lullaby)" clearly sums up McMahon's experience writing the album. The smooth, slow and organically produced track reveals his healing process though songwriting: "Give me something to believe in, a breath form the breathing so write it down/ I don't think that I'll close my eyes."
McMahon said he feels that his current release speaks more universally.
"I wanted to make a record that wasn't exactly about what I had seen, but what I had felt along the way," McMahon said. "Part of what's driven me to make music is this idea of connection; taking my experiences and writing about them honestly, but in such a way that someone in a completely different situation can still relate to them."
With the help of co-producer Jim Wirt (Incubus, Hoobastank), "The Glass Passenger" was recorded over the past two years as a "bizarre balance between present and past" whenever inspiration struck McMahon.
In addition to recording the album, McMahon performed for a 22-city "Tour for the Cure," which raised $125,000 to benefit The Dear Jack Foundation, a non-profit organization founded by McMahon to fund cancer research.
It is evident through McMahon's serious lyrical focus and softer melodies that recording the album was a personally rewarding experience.
"The completion of this album and its release represents the closing of a chapter," McMahon said. "It was a difficult time, but also one of immense hope. It was during this period that my music and my life were the most seamlessly bound together-a truth that makes this album's release far more pleasing for me than most could ever imagine."
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