Jack’s Mannequin : People And Things
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Jack’s Mannequin : People And Things

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Jack’s Mannequin and frontman Andrew McMahon and are back with their third studio album People And Things, released alongside the band’s performances at Soundwave this year. Their first record to be released since McMahon’s recovery from leukaemia, the album debuted in the United States at number one on the Billboard alternative rock albums chart, with a top ten showing on the Billboard Top 200 albums chart. Since the release Jack’s Mannequin have toured with Dashboard Confessional around parts of Australia, performing live to hoards of fans in Melbourne and Sydney.

McMahon considers People And Things “a relationship record”. He’s on the record stating that his intention was to cut through the sentimentality surrounding a new love in one’s life, and evidently as McMahon approaches 30 and settles down he has been reassessing how he views the world. “Everybody wants to say it’s all sunshine and roses, but when you start living with someone and you get married there’s a whole growing pains stage, at least there was in my world, and I think a lot of this record was about that period of time.”

McMahon’s approach has somewhat lessened the emotional connection which some of the tracks make. The lead single from the album, My Racing Thoughts, is a key casualty of this strategy. In general the more stripped back songs on People and Things work best. Tracks such as Amy, I and Hey Hey Hey are really enjoyable, and unlike the alternative version of the wall of sound approach used elsewhere on the album the lyrics are accessible and McMahon’s stories begin to come alive, and Amelia Jean is a fine example of storytelling in alternative rock.

BY JOSH FERGEUS

Best Track: Amy, I

If You Like These, You’ll Like This: SOMETHING CORPORATE, DASHBOARD CONFESSIONAL

In A Word: Enjoyable