Rock band Jack’s Mannequin released it’s third album, “People and Things,” on Oct. 4. Immediately, the album debuted at No. 1 on Billboard Magazine’s alternative rock charts and No. 9 on Billboard Magazine’s Top 200 albums chart.
Jack’s Mannequin alone did not record the album, however. Relient K’s lead singer, Matt Thiessen contributed to four songs on the album.
Many of the songs were heard before the album was released. “Hey Hey Hey (We’re All Gonna Die),” “Platform Fire” and “Restless Dream” were debuted prior to the album release.
This is also the first album in which a new band member was added. Joining Andrew McMahon, Bobby “Raw” Anderson and Jay McMillan, Mikey “The Kid” Wagner joined as the new bassist in 2010.
The loved acoustic sound of Jack’s Mannequin is continued in this album. With the piano, guitar and drums accompanying the lyrics well, the music is certainly “feel good.”
“Amy, I” and “Amelia Jean” are excellent songs written about females who they clearly had quite a relationship with. The listeners certainly can feel the passion that is expressed in both of these relational songs.
“Hey Hey Hey (We’re All Gonna Die)” tells an excellent story throughout the lyrics. It also talks about how we were going to die someday. The last verse brings all the other lyrics together with a challenge to “keep your eyes on the road.”
“Restless Dream” is about the unspoken ambitions we have in our life. It continues to talk about how those ambitions become restless because they sometimes consume us.
The songs on this album are certainly relatable and very melodic.
I would recommend the album to anyone who enjoys acoustic music or has enjoyed any of Jack’s Mannequin’s previous albums.
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