Emotionalpunk.com
Media Review
Music Quality: 9.0
Production: 9.5
Originality: 8.5
Tracklisting
2. The Mixed Tape
3. Bruised
4. I'm Ready
5. La La Lie
6. Dark Blue
7. Miss Delaney
8. Kill the Messenger
9. Rescued
10. MFEO Pt 1 Made for Each Other
11. MFEO Pt 2 You Can Breathe
12. Into the Airwaves
If you’re at all familiar with this band, you know its leader, Andrew McMahon, and to know this man means that you’ve heard all about the hardships he endured last year with his fight against leukemia – a battle that turned many heads in his direction. Needless to say, the numbers continue to grow as people have begun to hold both McMahon and his music with the highest regard. While these proclamations of grandeur are more than welcome, it brings to mind some very serious questions: Are these kind words simply a product of sympathy or do they truly originate from a deep respect for what he has created? Is McMahon an authentic artist, or is he milking a charity case? The real question is this: Are the critics acclaiming his work simply because they pity the difficult battle he’s overcome?
The answer… hell no.
Andrew McMahon is back in a big way. Hailing from Something Corporate fame, Andrew has kept true to his piano roots and put out an album with more heart and soul than anything I have heard in a few years. His passion for pop music shines in this release referencing sounds ranging from his early Something Corporate years all the way back to The Beatles and The Beach Boys.
Kicking the album off with a song that seems to be made for summertime driving, Jack’s Mannequin shows its listener what they are all about: feelin’ good. The songs that follow are equally impressive and just as pleasant. The passion shown in “I’m Ready” and the honesty of “Rescue” are enough to grab anyone’s attention and make them really listen. Although this is a pop album that you can’t help but sing along to, there is some real soul to be found in it. That soul is present within the reoccurring theme of the disc, and that’s being away from home.
This is a sentiment many can relate too, the feeling of being away from the places and people you love. This album is full of reminiscing on what was and and dealing with what is no longer. Though being away from the things you love can hurt, not all memories inspire thoughts of despondence. Some memories will make you smile until the day you die, and I feel that Andrew McMahon should be congratulated on really picking up on that particular emotion of “home”.
The honeymoon period is over. I have had this disc for a good half year or so now and I still feel the same way I did the first time I heard it. I feel that this is a fantastic debut for the band and should be treasured by any fan of pop music. With not a single poor track on the entire album, Jack’s Mannequin has created something special. This is a jewel.