Robyn Writes

On The Road by fightclubsandwich

There is an odd smell about the gallery section of the Barber Institute Of Art, kind of like chocolate that’s been half melted and the mixed with wax. I have no idea what the actual source of the smell is, though. The gallery part is up a curved staircase, and the curved staircase is at the end of a very fancy corridor which has very high ceilings and very tall doors, but is not in anyway intimidating. The whole place is very marble and shiny, and there are lots of leaflets about future events to be taken, all over the place, and when I leave later, back down this same marble corridor, there’s very live, very fancy piano music coming from behind one of the very tall doors. This music may also have been playing when I entered the building, but I was listening to Jawbreaker, which drowned it out. I obviously chose Jawbreaker in order to “psych myself up” about what I was going to see, but when I started to ascend the stairs, the sound of jazz wafted down my way, and I decided that this maybe set the scene a little better than Shield Your Eyes. (I don’t have Boxcar on my iPod, though it would clearly have been the obvious choice)

The actual display itself was kind of lean and modest. The room was very small, and the walls were all white, and there weren’t nearly as many people there as I had expected. I think I might just be a huge geek, really, and my geekiness caused me to over estimate the appeal that this artefact had to the majority of students on campus. I won’t go on the first day it opens, I had thought to myself, there’ll be so much crowding, so many queues! I went to see it on the second day and saw something like five other people there. Admittedly, it was lunch time.

There were three very long, narrow glass cases in the middle of the room. The centre one obviously held On The Road itself, the ones on either side of it held supplementary materials, like various editions of the book, both British and American; articles about it, when it was first published, and copies of Kerouac’s other works, including one that was signed. That, more than anything else – for some reason – made me sad about Kerouac’s death at the age of just forty seven. Not only is that far too young an age to have died, it’s frustrating to think that he was never even alive in my lifetime. It was very odd considering just how many of my favourite authors are long dead (that’d be most of them) but thinking about it that way only really gets me at random moments, it stabs me like a needle and really bothers me. I had such a moment there, at the Kerouac display.

So, the actual scroll? Every single aspect of it is impressive. My eyes got caught on lines I remember reading in the book, “in their eyes I would be strange and ragged like the Prophet who has walked across the land to bring the dark Word” being one of my favourite parts, that I was hoping I’d see, but never really thought I would be able to pick out, when I saw it for real, but I did pick it out, and it felt terrific. The whole thing is very long, and there’s this aged amber tape holding the reams of paper together. It just reminds you how old, how historical this is, this is an artefact. There are crossings out too, in his own hand, in pencil. Not all of his handwriting is totally readable, but you can see how he changed it so that Sal lived with his aunt and not his mother- the word mother is crossed out a lot, and replaced with aunt. In reference to what I was saying earlier about picking out memorable lines, you’d think that the opening line – one of the most memorable in most novels – would be one of the easiest to find, and to remember it and make the connection between the Penguin Classic you have in your bag and the piece of history looming before you. But the opening line is utterly different, because of course, he changed Neal Cassady’s name to Dean Moriarty to make it less autobiographical, and changed the death of his father to the divorce of his first wife for reasons that can be explained either politically or sociologically.

On The Road is really remarkable for the way it was written – over the course of three weeks, under the influence of lots of coffee (hell yes) and based upon real, autobiographical stuff that Kerouac got up to. As strange, – but at the same time obvious – as it is to think that the computer’s take over of the typewriter as the most convenient way to write in the twenty-first century means an end to such artifacts as these, we have to remember that On The Road is in no way typical in its form, it really is special. As a landmark literary artefact, the scroll follows the original, handwritten versions of the likes of the Bronte sisters, or Dickens, and to go back even further, the extraordinary elaborate illuminated manuscripts of the Middle Ages. Now that we’ve chosen new mediums to write in that save our words as pure information and memory, (like this column you’re reading right now, oh wow!) and have all but discarded traditional, physical forms, I think it’s really exciting to think about what artefacts we’re going to be treasuring – years from now – as physical connections to the writers of today. Will we start keeping tiny things, like J.K. Rowling’s hair slides, or Audrey Niffenegger’s socks? I can’t help thinking about how monks kept bits of the body parts of saints after they died, as relics. What if you went to a library and they said “oh yeah, we’ve got Will Self’s hand in a glass case, wanna see?”

The cases in the exhibit were quite low down, which frustrated me. I’m something like five foot five, and they were about hip level, so I had to crane my neck downwards to read the scroll, not to mention that because of the very long, narrow, rectangle shape of the cases, you have to stand beside the thing at a right-angle to the words, so you have to turn your neck a lot to read it. This makes it a very awkward and uncomfortable thing to look at, and it starts to hurt a fair bit to pore over for too long. Luckily, the exhibit is completely free, and so close to my house, and the places I go every day, that I can go back whenever I want.

If you are anywhere near the Birmingham area, I compel you to go. Really. GO. You will not regret it. There is a train station on the campus itself, (the uncreatively named “University Station”) which is only five minutes walk (ten, maybe if you’re really slow) from the Barber Institute. If you’re remotely interested in Kerouac’s work – or books and literature at all – it’s a really remarkable thing. You will be impressed. You will be inspired. You might have an orgasm. If you miss out on a chance to see something so amazing, you will just be miserable.

Review: Kennedy – Life Is An Afterparty [EP]

Oh, Kennedy. Here you come again with your shiny disco tunes. I actually won this EP in a competition last month, which came as a nice surprise, considering I don’t win much over the internet. I won’t let this cloud my judgement though, yet despite my noble intentions, I can’t help but think this shit is awesome.

The truth is, I’ve always loved Kennedy, right from the moment I heard the immortal line Nobody loves you like your mama loves you, but who’s lovin’ your mama? I am, I am!. All of his songs have this wonderfully tongue in cheek quality, but if there’s one thing the man is serious about, it’s how to get down and dirty on the dancefloor, and this comes through perfectly in this EP. There is not a single song on this EP that you can’t dance to and I can guarantee that this will be your favourite summer record, packed with sing along moments and funky beats.

There are some absolutely glorious songs on this EP. It opens up with ‘Life Is A Party’, a pretty chilled out offering with some hilarious lyrics, as per the usual fare with Kennedy (and I would absolutely love to see him in those Star Wars pyjamas). This has such an infectious whistle in it, and you will soon be pissing everyone off with it. The next song, I Hate Rock And Roll is a bit more upbeat, with some kick ass 80’s style piano and pounding synth. Again, there are so many awesome sing along parts and great lyrics, and this EP really plays to Kennedy’s strengths, highlighting everything great about his songs in a short space of time. Third track, John and Yoko actually makes the Beatles somewhat interesting, with Kennedy’s tale of how he’ll be the John to your Yoko. This song actually contains one of my favourite lines ever – The universe started with a big bang, you and I started with the same thing!. I don’t know what it is, but I just can’t resist a good innuendo in my disco, and if that’s your bag, this guy’s got plenty.

The only real problem I have with this EP is the remix of Your Mama. To me, it just doesn’t fit with the rest of the EP, and it’s shameful milking of a successful song. Don’t get me wrong, the original version is fantastic, but it just feels like a bit of a filler track, which an EP just doesn’t have room for. However, that’s thankfully followed by Karate, which is possibly my favourite Kennedy song after Let’s Get Def. Karate is funky as hell. And let’s face it, that’s all the description a disco song really needs.

So, if you’re looking for some fun tunes to get you in the mood for summer, Kennedy is definitely your man. This EP is a great taster of what he’s capable of, and if you like this, you should definitely check out his album, Kennedy For President.

4.5 high fives!

Jisan Rock Valley Festival (a review by Nox)

At the beginning of this month, I went to the Jisan Valley Rock Festival. If you’re wondering what on Earth that is, I would advise you to look to the right on your globe and locate South Korea. Seeing as I am currently there, that should give you some insight!

Now the Jisan Valley Rock Festival is held in none other than Jisan Valley, which is actually a ski resort during the winter months. Naturally, the stages were set up all along the bottom of the Valley; however, the camping was on the sides of the mountains! I can inform you after a night of sleeping on the side of a mountain -continuously waking up to push yourself back up to your pillows because gravity is pulling you down and making you half-consciously assume at any moment someone is going to slip too far and go tumbling down the stone-ridden hill pulling the tent and everyone inside with it – that the following morning may possibly be one of the sorest moment you will ever experience.

Fortunately, such bad camping grounds are worth it with a line up including bands such as Muse, Mute Math, Vampire Weekend, Massive Attack, Third Eye Blind, Kula Shaker, and Pet Shop Boys. Not to mention Korean punk band Galaxy Express who covered I love Rock and Roll with a Female vocalist, as well as a medley containing ACDC, Green Day, Queen, and quite a few more. Also there were Korean metal bands such as Crazy for Crash and several DJs, which isn’t surprising considering South Korea hosted the World DJ Festival just months before.

The festival was something similar to a Korean Bonnaroo, only less environment-friendly. The resort offered a pool with massive blow-up water slides, floating trampolines, and other large floats to play on. The food varied from traditional Korean food to BBQ to pizza, coffee, and hotdogs. Not to mention enough alcohol to drown a city, which was served in buckets (which you may recognize as the ones your baby sister used to build sand castles with at the beach). The merch tents were so offbeat it was humorous. Not only were local shops there, but also one could find Calvin Klein underwear, Beats by Dr. Dre, and even Crocs. As a side note, any time we walked anywhere it was always up or down an incline. Anytime we wanted to retreat back to the tent we had to walk up half a mountain, literally. But none of the exhaustion mattered, because this festival was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

The music was excellent, and even at night while sitting outside of our tent we could still hear the music pulsating through the valley. In fact, we heard a Beach Boys cover band, Korean style. We also heard Pet Shop Boys and quite a few DJs from our spot on the slope. Unfortunately, we missed the first day of the festival so sadly we did not get to see Vampire Weekend. However, we did see Mute Math put on one hell of a show. (Best song: Reset) While waiting for that show we caught Crazy for Crash, who are metal to the core and produce some pretty decent moshes. The following and final day we saw Galaxy Express who are rock stars if I ever saw them and reminded me a lot of Green Day in their mannerisms as well as showmanship. Third Eye Blind is not necessarily a band I particularly like, and I didn’t like the new heavy sound they are currently going for. However, they also produced a decent show and kept the crowd enthused. Kula Shaker is a Britpop band I wasn’t familiar with. They came onto the scene in the mid 90’s and had one catchy hit “Hush” that I’m sure most people will recognize from something somewhere. Apparently, they were much more popular internationally than in America so I may sound a little biased. Anyway, they had an excellent show and are definitely a band with a note-worthy sound. Finally, the night ended with Muse. Now I have seen Muse before back in ’06, but this was so much bigger than that. I have never seen so many lasers in my entire life. Not only that but they came in with their own screens to put on top of the existing screens to make trippy filters for the live stream of the stage. They played songs from all albums, and continued song after song to out do themselves. At the end they launched huge eyeball balloon/beach balls into the crowd.

Lastly, as we made our way back to our tent to pack up and go home the festival began the night’s final farewell firework show. It last for at least fifteen minutes and was gorgeous. Huge, expensive, beautiful glittering fireworks lighting up the night sky is an excellent way to end such a fantastic festival.

Turning Japanese

There comes a moment (or several, if you’re like that) in everyone’s life when they turn around, go ‘oh shit!’ and finally realise that they’ve succumbed to something they swore they wouldn’t. Most times, this is an addiction or obsession. Like realising that you have to stop buying shoes because you have no money or space to keep them in any more. Like looking at the clock in the middle of a gaming session and realising you haven’t moved for eight hours. Like finding yourself covered in tattoos after you swore you’d only get ‘just one or two’. However, I think I’ve got something a bit more embarrassing than that. In my case… it’s an obsession with Japanese culture.

You just have to look all over the internet to see how shameful that can potentially be. Several satire sites on the internet tell the tale of the ‘weeaboo’ or ‘wapanese’ kids, who obsess over anime, call things ‘kawaii’ (potentially the only Japanese word they know) and import Pocky for ridiculous amounts of money. Those kids are, generally, scary. Some obsess beyond belief. Those are the kind that want to marry their favourite anime character or ‘bishie’. The kind that attempt to use any form of Japanese language they can, even if they know two or three words. And don’t forget the pictures. All over DeviantART, there’s bad fanart, creepy anthropomorphic cats, horrifically drawn doujinshi…

But, there are lots of cool elements to Japanese culture that say, ‘yes, you can overcome this initial fear, it’s not all a creepy world full of cat people and fat cosplayers!’ Because it really isn’t! I’ll be your virtual tour guide through some of this weird and wonderful world, but please, watch out for the tentacle rape hentai…

Anime
It makes sense to start at ‘A’, and cool thing number one? Anime. Anime is the Japanese word for animation, but most have taken this on to mean Japanese cartoons. For the most part, they’re more inventive, more wacky and a more central part of television than anywhere else. You’ve probably seen anime before, whether you like it or not. Virtually everyone in the Western world under twenty has watched Pokemon at some point in their lives, and can probably agree that it’s one part insane, three parts awesome (or lame, if you’re determined not to be a geek).


Pikachu – inspiring kids to paint their hamsters yellow since 1995

Dragonball Z started it all off for me, and I haven’t stopped since. The main problem is trying to get hold of it. Not all of the best anime is dubbed into English for the American market, and trying to find anime on television in the UK is like trying to find fightclubsandwich at a Less Than Jake gig. It’s an elusive beast. Luckily, there’s a lot of sites which host streaming anime videos and clips. You can watch the English dubs on some sites, or for the true Japanophile, there’s ‘subs’, where fangroups take the raw Japanese episode and subtitle it for the rest of the world. Personally, I prefer the subs, because the Japanese voices are generally much funnier in the comedy animes and English subs don’t get the same emotions coming through. It also gives me a chance to attempt to learn the hideously difficult Japanese language. Common phrases like WHYYYYYYY (doushite, if you were interested) and ‘but that means…’ (masaka) are now firmly embedded in my brain and I feel that if the opportunity to solve a mystery or fight supernatural forces arises with Japanese involved, I’m fully competent to handle the situation.

Recommended watching: Fullmetal Alchemist, Fruits Basket, Ouran High School Host Club, D.Gray-Man, Death Note, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Samurai Champloo, Bleach, Gantz, Blood+. Essentially, anything that isn’t Naruto.

The bands
Japanese bands are odd, sometimes creepy, often fantastic. J-rock and J-pop have been the cornerstone of every Japanophile’s music collection, and this can encompass a massive range in style. Dir en Gray, for example, don’t know who they should be, and neither do UVERworld, with their insane rapping guy mixed with pop-punkish guitars. Either way, Japanese music has this lack of boundaries that the western world tends to have, leading to some weird and wonderful tracks. Also, the lead singer often looks like a woman. A strangely attractive woman.


Yes. Miyavi is a dude. You’re free to feel ashamed now, boys.

Even if you don’t know what they’re singing about, Japanese pop music tends to be happier than ours, their metal even more frenetic, and their fans are twice as loyal. Attractive singers and musicians, often known as ‘idols’, are elevated to almost god status. Many bands provided the basis for new fashion movements like Visual Kei (we’ll talk about that later), such as Malice Mizer and X Japan. And to sum up… Japanese fangirls are even more devoted than My Chemical Romance’s.

Recommended listening:

1) UVERworld – great pop-punk. These guys do a lot of anime themes, so their music is pretty accessible.

2) abingdon boys school – fantastic rock music. The guitar in this is just awesome. Possibly my favourite J-rock band.

3) Orange Range – really light hearted pop-punk which is great fun.

4) Miyavi – an essential. He’s weird, but wonderful.

5) Polysics – these ones are a little more well known over here. Again, just plain weird, but fantastic.

6) L’Arc-en-ciel – mostly famous for their involvement in the visual kei movement, but really good stuff. Their ‘alter ego’, P’unk-en-ciel is also awesome.

The games
It would be virtually impossible for me to comment on Japanese culture without mentioning the video game industry. Almost every successful video game franchise has originated from Japan, as well as three of the most successful video game consoles of all time – the Wii, the DS and the Playstation 2. The video game industry is a huge presence over there and you can find Nintendo stores, gaming merchandise and Wii Sports bars (you think I’m joking, but I’m really not) everywhere.

The Japanese are famous for pioneering a bunch of genres and showing everyone else how to do it right. RPGs (role playing games) are probably the best example of this. Squaresoft and Enix – now joined as Square Enix – created the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest series respectively, two of the best selling franchises worldwide. The Final Fantasy series are definitely some of my favourite games ever, combining a compelling story with interesting gameplay, and really, were the first games to do so. Nothing excites me more than a girly, angsty protagonist with a vengeance kick and a badass limit break. Of course, Nintendo have created almost everything worth playing, and Mario is indeed the most recognisable video game character ever. Much like our browser title says, my mum loves playing Mario Kart, and I don’t think she’s the only one. The Wii and DS have revolutionised the way we play together – a ‘games’ night in my house used to consist of playing Cluedo; now, we gather round the TV and try to beat each other’s bowling scores on Wii Sports – and have made video gaming a worldwide hobby for all ages.

As well as the ‘blockbusters’, Japanese game companies have produced some really quirky ones. Some of these have far out gameplay, some have the strangest stories and others… well, others involve you
peeing into a toilet with your Wii remote. Perhaps the quirkiest game I’ve played in a long time is The World Ends With You, a DS game in which you, playing as Neku, have complete some pretty strange objectives in order to win your life back from the Reapers. It’s got a battle system only the Japanese could think of – using pins/badges to destroy ‘Noise’, monsters trying to erase you from the world. Oh, and buying outfits that suit the trends of Shibuya. For those wishing to expand their collection of geek, Eye of Judgement for PS3 is a must – use the Playstation Eye to enact a card battle on your screen. Odd? Yes. Fun? Definitely, if you like CCGs.

There’s not much more I can say about games without revealing my true and geeky colours, and there’s still a lot more to talk about on our strange mystery tour around the world of Japanese culture. However, be sure to watch out for games from Japanese publishers on your travels around your local video game store, because I can guarantee that most of the time, they’re definitely the better buy. I may be stating the obvious here, but…

Recommended series/games to play: Final Fantasy, Resident Evil, Mario, Pokemon, No More Heroes, Legend Of Zelda, Tekken, Mega Man, Metal Gear Solid, Onimusha, Kingdom Hearts.

The fashion

Ah… Japanese fashion. Japanese fashion is definitely more daring than Western fashion in a lot of respects, but then again, the girls and boys there can usually pull it off better than we ever could. Nevertheless, Japanese fashion has inspired plenty of fashion movements around the world and looks incredibly cool. Harajuku and Shibuya are the main fashion districts, and tons of Western designers have taken cues from these places. So, what are some types of Japanese fashion?

Perhaps the most important Japanese fashion movement is Visual Kei. Many argue that Visual Kei is a genre of music, and while it was pioneered by bands, those bands don’t always have the same sound, just the same look. Therefore, we’ll call it fashion. Visual Kei bands used their appearance in order to attract attention… and they really did get it. Visual Kei bands were usually all male, and androgyny is still an important part of Visual Kei. Defining features are over the top hairstyles, shocking use of makeup (lipstick in particular) and bright, colourful and flamboyant clothing.


This is the band Versailles. To be honest, those costumes are BADASS. Also, they’re all men.

Another notable Japanese fashion movement is lolita. Although the name sounds kind of creepy (Wikipedia it, trust me), lolita is truly an adorable trend and ties in closely with the goth movement. Typical features of lolita include black (and lots of it), frills, sweet little dresses and bows. It’s influenced by Victorian fashion… but far less conservative. There are many subdivisions of lolita, and if you want to learn more, I highly recommend LolitaFashion.org. But seriously… this style is cute.

And who could forget cosplay?! Cosplay is one of the stranger aspects of Japanese fashion, where Japanese kids (and otaku) dress up as their favourite anime/manga/video game character. This has spread throughout the world now and people do this at conventions all over. However, we’ll never be as successful at it as the Japanese. It takes a lot of effort to get cosplay right. Many enthusiasts make their own costumes. Lazy people like myself order them from specialist cosplay sites. Either way, it can be incredibly fun. This year, I plan on dressing up as Yuna from Final Fantasy X. Just think… it’s like Halloween come early! For some awesome Western cosplay pictures, check out American Cosplay Paradise. If it’s Japanese you’re after, then JapanForum has some of the best.

The manga

And finally, on our tour, we have manga. Manga is the Japanese equivalent of a comic book, and different mangas are usually printed in a weekly magazine such as Shonen Jump or Shojo Beat. Stories are then collected into tankobon, which is generally the format that we find them in. There are many different types of manga, but the main ones are shonen, which is for boys, and shojo, which is for girls. Typically, the hardcore action happens in shonen and all the magical fashon stuff happens in shojo. However, allow me to take you through a few key characters you might encounter throughout your manga travels (while recommending you some killer titles at the same time)!

1) The ‘magical girl’ – this is the kind of girl that we all want to be. One day, the ‘magical girl’ discovers she has magical powers, and usually, she must use these powers to save the world! These powers can include flight, magic through the use of cards, super strength and more. She’s often got a hidden identity, making her even more cool and mysterious, but she can have a sidekick on occasion. This character can be written in any way.

Notable magical girls – Chi from Chobits, Sakura from Cardcaptor Sakura, Usagi from Sailor Moon

2) The bishounen or ‘bishie’ – an extremely attractive, almost feminine looking man. These are found all over the place in shojo manga and are usually the main love interest. They’re charming, intelligent, chivalrous and downright gorgeous. They’re often hip and cool too, with wicked fashion sense.

Notable bishounen – Tamaki Suou from Ouran High School Host Club, Yuki Sohma from Fruits Basket, Eiri Yuki from Gravitation

3) The ‘harem’ leader – Harem manga is usually comedic and involves a boy (or girl!) surrounded by beautiful men or women who are interested in them – not necessarily romantically. Usually, this character is awkward, oblivious, uncool, but also the point of major comedy. Harem manga is a lot of fun.

Notable harem leaders – Haruhi from Ouran High School Host Club, Keitaro Urashima from Love Hina, Tenchi from Tenchi Muyo

4) The ‘antihero’ – Much like in Western comics, the antihero is a big thing, particularly in shonen manga. Usually, these characters are stoic, abrasive and don’t see why it has to be them to save the world. To a lesser extent, these characters are seen in shojo manga as the ‘bad boy’ who doesn’t see why all the girls like him. However, towards the end of the series, their cold, hard exterior seems to crack as they find their true purpose.

Notable antiheroes – Kyo Sohma from Fruits Basket, Ichigo Kurasaki from Bleach, Ororon Gem Farrell from The Demon Ororon

5) The ‘pervert’ – The pervert can be found all over manga. They’re those cheeky little characters whose accusations and jokes go a little too far. You can usually find these guys sneaking a peek at the girls when they’re wearing something a little too revealing or groping a boob here and there. They usually get their asses kicked somehow, usually by the main girl character.

Notable perverts – Shigure Sohma from Fruits Basket, Hideki from Chobits, Roshi from Dragonball Z

Alas, it’s the end for our journey around the wonderful world of Japanese culture! This article has barely scratched the surface. There’s so much more out there, but hopefully, this will have given you a good idea of how awesome Japanese culture is. The more I look into it, the less I feel ashamed of a potentially geeky habit and the more obsessed I become. Sayonara!

PS: I’ve decided to include a glossary of some terms found within the article for further explanation:

CCG – collectible card game. Think Magic: The Gathering.

Hentai – anime porn. Yup.

Otaku – somebody obsessed with the geekier aspects of Japanese culture. And I mean obsessed.

Pocky – pretzel sticks with a delicious coating. Popular flavours are chocolate, strawberry, grape, banana and milk.

Doujinshi – self-published or fan manga.

Review: Jack’s Mannequin – The Glass Passenger


The Glass Passenger is the sophomore album from Jack’s Mannequin, the side project of Andrew McMahon from Something Corporate. Something Corporate have long been one of my favourite bands, and I was highly impressed by the first Jack’s Mannequin album, Everything In Transit. Whilst I enjoyed The Glass Passenger, it just didn’t work as well for me as its predecessor.

The album starts off quite well. I was expecting a more powerful opening, but Crashing starts the album off nicely. It opens with the beautiful piano we’ve come to expect of McMahon, and the opening lyric, ‘I want to hear some music’ is simple, but somewhat enticing. The next track, Spinning, is one of the best on the album, and has everything in it which Jack’s Mannequin do well – amazing piano, great guitar, fantastic lyrics and decent drumming. It’s a shame that Swim, the third track, is a bit of a let down. Jack’s Mannequin do slow songs well (proven later in the album by Annie, Use Your Telescope and Hammer And Strings), but this one just doesn’t grab me like it should. This is potentially the weakest song on the album, and even after a few listens, I just can’t get into it. The album does this a fair bit – it has some good songs, then a weaker one, then some more good ones, then another weaker one. Don’t let this put you off though – all of the songs are listenable and enjoyable, but it disrupts the feel of the album somewhat, and leaves you a little disappointed.

That said, there are some absolutely great songs on this album. The first single, The Resolution, is a wonderful song, with some beautiful strings included. In fact, if I was to put the album into my own running order, I would open with that one, because it just hits you right off, and has a great chorus. American Love, which is probably going to be the next single, is catchy as hell with some brilliant riffs in it. Again, this song has a massive chorus, which is something Jack’s Mannequin manage almost every time. Bloodshot sounds a lot like a Maroon 5 single, but with more punch and better lyrics. As I mentioned previously, Jack’s Mannequin do slow songs well, and Hammer and Strings is beautiful, and has fast become one of my favourite Jack’s Mannequin songs. The album also finishes on a stronger note than it begins. Caves is one of those all-piano songs that McMahon is famous for, and sounds sublime through iPod headphones.

However, there’s just something about the The Glass Passenger that doesn’t live up to its predecessor. It’s the lack of those quirks that Everything In Transit had. One thing that I loved about Everything In Transit was the experimentation; the different instruments used, the different tones of the songs. Everything on The Glass Passenger seems to blend together after a while. Some songs sound like Something Corporate 2.0 without the California vibe – it’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it detracts from some of the better elements of the album.

The Glass Passenger is definitely worth a listen though. If you like soaring piano melodies and lyrics full of imagery and honesty, then you’ll enjoy it very much. It’s not quite the album I was expecting, but it’s still highly enjoyable, and I can’t help but smile when I’m listening.

3 out of 4 high fives.