Hello everybody! Sorry that I haven’t been posting as much as I usually do in a two week period…I’ve been too busy writing a series of short stories that are being published in Zombie Coffee Press this October. Entitled “The Dim and Departed,” the four part zombie horror-comedy will start on October 17th, and will continue for a month. Please head over to the site and check it out, and read some of the other stories that are already up. I highly recommend you take the time and read them…and read mine when they come out later this month.

Anyways, enough self promotion, back to the music. And a good way to start is with Andrew McMahon. McMahon was, and technically still is, the frontman for punk-pop outfit Something Corporate. The band recently returned after a seven-year hiatus to start touring again, and played in grand fashion. Of course, McMahon stayed busy, starting his solo project Jack’s Mannequin once Something Corporate went on hiatus. Sadly, right after his first solo album dropped, he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. But he persevered, and has become an icon among the alternative community, founding the Dear Jack Foundation to support cancer research, and still being able to blow away crowds at his live shows.

Now, McMahon’s latest album, People and Things, sits comfortably between the piano pop perfection of Ben Folds and the emotional supremacy of Dashboard Confessional. The lead off single, “My Racing Thoughts,” is a beautifully played pop song, with some pretty dark lyrics. “Amy, I” is a tragically sentimental song which describes a sort of cold that he will never feel again. “Hey Hey Hey (We’re All Gonna Die)” is a bombastic and oddly optimistic ballad in which McMahon breaks the news that everybody already knows. “Restless Dream” is a nice side song to all of the piano in People and Things, though I would’ve liked for it to be placed somewhere in the middle (just to have a nice break from all of the piano).

The one problem with the album, like I noted above, is all of the piano. I’m not saying that it itself is bad, but the lack of diversity in what he plays makes the album come off as stale. I know that Jack’s Mannequin isn’t the most upbeat project in the world (Dashboard Confessional can agree to that), but it would be nice to see McMahon step out of his comfort zone and make a rather happy song. He doesn’t need to be a Ben Folds type of songwriter, but just a

Here is the biggest difference between McMahon and someone like Ben Folds. They both are incredibly talented, but Folds can be both emotional and funny, depending on what songs you listen to. McMahon, however, keeps it on one level; serious. His music is great, no arguments there. I would just like to seem him branch out into a happier state of mind, even if it’s incredibly ironic.

And just as a side note, I would love to see either one of the two finally break out into the mainstream. Both are highly respected in their respective scenes, but neither have gotten the attention they deserve. Of course, Folds is hosting The Sing-Off, so he has a little bit of an advantage. I’d just like to see Jack’s Mannequin break out to more people. Also, I’d like to see a new Something Corporate album, but I digress.

People and Things is a solid LP that will be dissected for it’s tracks to be placed on many of people’s mixtapes for now until the end of the year. Though the album feels repetitive in some areas, it’s easy to skip around and find your favorite track. As much as I think people will do so, the LP as a whole does deserve some praise for being yet another solid effort from Jack’s Mannequin.

Final Grade: B
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Go Download: “Amy, I”