theglasspassenger Blog and Journals

 
To be completely honest, I was disappointed the first time I listened to this album. "Caves" was too whiny, "Swim" went on for far too long, and "Spinning" was only okay. I remember stopping the CD, not even bothering to give the last few tracks a chance. I scrolled through my iTunes to Jack's Mannequin's debut album, Everything In Transit, and pressed play.

While I sat there in front of my laptop, I found myself frustrated and missing "Holiday From Real" and "Dark Blue." However, after sitting around for far too long sulking in my disappointment, I came to realize that there was no way the band could have written a Transit repeat after front man, Andrew McMahon, battled leukemia in 2005 and 2006. Was that why the record was laden with almost overtly heavy piano? Was that the reasoning behind the melancholy lyrics? After taking the time to really listen, I realized that I was still wrong.

When I revisited The Glass Passenger, the only word that came to mind was raw. "Caves" isn't whiny, but rather reveals the singer's vulnerability and pain, which he counters this with "The Resolution" which tells McMahon's story of perseverance. Despite that "Swim" is one of the longer tracks on the record, it doesn't drag out, but rather tries to engrain the idea of keeping a positive frame of mind. "Caves" was not whiny; it was fragile and groundbreaking all at once.

Though his battle with cancer and his recovery are now a huge part of his life, McMahon chooses not to write a record just about his fight with leukemia. Instead, he pens songs that ooze optimism rather than a 'woe-is-me' mentality, making The Glass Passenger a truly beautiful masterpiece.