By By Paul Palazzolo
This past year, singer/songwriter Andrew McMahon decided to switch gears and take a hiatus from Something Corporate. Instead, McMahon started his own side project called Jack’s Mannequin and released the debut album, Everything In Transit.
While listening to the opening track, “Holiday From Real,” a listener would think the entire album is upbeat. The track begins with a cheery piano melody and guitars riffs that follow an optimistic trend. The lyrics are a reflection on his perfect days before Something Corporate. McMahon sketches his hometown of Venice Beach, Calif. as a perfect place to live. The illustration for “Holiday From Real” is utopian with a social gathering and a warm color scheme.
McMahon uses a similar route for “The Mixed Tape” as “Holiday From Real”- a high tempo and a cheerful melody. However, if the listener pays attention to the lyrics, they are not so jovial. McMahon starts to question his past during his time in Venice Beach. This theme steers the rest of the album.
The design of this album is incredibly clever. The artwork for the album initially has a color scheme full of reds and yellows, but it slowly fades to blues and violets. On the surface, the album is bright, but, as the listener ventures deeper, scars are revealed. The track titles become gloomy, especially the tracks “La La Lie” and “Dark Blue.”
The album could be a metaphor for growing up in Southern California. The exterior can be utopian, but, no matter where teenagers live, the emotional difficulties that they go through are strong.
The listener can feel McMahon unravel as his tone and pitch fluctuate in “I’m Ready.” There are more inconsistencies in his voice in this track than the first three songs combined; it is like he wants to cry when he sings, but he cannot do both. The tempo slows down and McMahon starts to pour his heart out to the audience as we learn about his past. By the time the listener gets to “Kill The Messenger,” there are no more cheerful melodies-the sentiment is overwhelming and the audience is forced to ride McMahon’s emotional rollercoaster.
Cheer up, though, because McMahon makes it through and his cheerful melodies come back just in time to conclude the album. For “Into The Airwaves,” the upbeat tempo and guitar riffs return. The tone lightens, and the lyrics are filled with optimism for the future.
As a songwriter, McMahon does an effective job of using music to convey the emotions he has experienced. Fans of Something Corporate will not be ashamed of McMahon’s work. It is a great album for his audience-high school and college students who go through drama day-in and day-out.
(Image courtesy mtv.com)