People and Things fails to shine

People and Things by Jack’s Mannequin

2/4 Stars

Released Oct. 4, People and Things is the third album from Orange County-based piano-rock/pop/punk group Jack’s Mannequin.  In order to understand People and Things, we must first examine the journey of frontman Andrew McMahon.

In 2005, shortly after the release of the band’s first album, McMahon was diagnosed with leukemia. That album, Everything in Transit, is a sunny, Beach Boys-esque album about love and heartbreak. In 2007, The Glass Passenger was released — an emotionally intense, intimate album, with many songs clearly influenced by McMahon’s battle with cancer.

People and Things is an attempted fusion of these two musical albums. McMahon calls People and Things “the finishing of a three-record installation.” The album is not falling in love, but it’s not just about despair — McMahon says that it focuses on “the stuff in between.”

While many bands have alienated their audience by breaking out into a completely new sound, Jack’s Mannequin’s fans shouldn’t see any surprises here. However, this is precisely the problem with People and Things — it’s nothing new. The album is saturated with radio-friendly songs that seem to have lost some of the magic of the old Jack’s Mannequin.

The albums opening track and a single, “My Racing Thoughts,” is a synth-based track about relationships. The synthesizer sounds horribly out of place for Jack’s Mannequin, and almost cheesy. The best parts of the track are when the synthesizer isn’t playing—some nice piano riffs create some nice bridges within the song, but overall it falls short.

The other single for People and Things is “Amy, I.”  This track starts out promisingly, but settles for a disappointing, poppy chorus. McMahon sings in the chorus, “Amy I / may never feel this way again / I never felt this kind of cold.”  Vocally, McMahon seems to be losing his unique sound — some of his vocal flourishes remind one of Gavin DeGraw or even U2.

While Andrew McMahon has called the new album “a pretty true rock ‘n’ roll record,” this is precisely what’s wrong with the album. A new Motley Crue / U2 –esque twist on the band’s sound has pushed the band more toward a generic pop sound. The punk sound is gone, and the McMahon’s melodies seem less unique and catchy than before.

Lyrically, these tracks are full of gems but also miscues. In “Television,” one line disappointingly reads “You and I, baby, we’re a broken record,” but another line is the more intriguing “We’re making sound, but only for the noise,” depicting the aftermath of a fight.

Long-time Jack’s Mannequin fans will also certainly be disappointed by a lack of familiar, piano-heavy tracks.

Of note on the album is the track “Restless Dreams” — the first purely-acoustic song by the band. This track seems stuck somewhere between a lullaby and a Sheryl Crow ballad.

“Hey Hey Hey (We’re All Gonna Die)” is a nod to “Piano Man” by Billy Joel. This track seems to fill the obligatory somewhat-depressing anthem song that many pop rock bands try to fit into their album. “No Man Is an Island,” while somewhat cheesy, is an irresistibly sweet ballad about the love of a man for a woman. “Broken Bird” seems to lead us more back toward the Jack’s Mannequin of old — it’s more piano-based and fresher lyrically.

Although many might enjoy the more radio-friendly Jack’s Mannequin, the band seems to have left behind that made it most unique — the edge has been lost somewhere in the poppy melodies and the U2 / Motley Crue spin. An uninteresting fusion of their first two albums, People and Things is a disappointing album.