I think we have come to the point where whatever Andrew delivers as music, it is going to be, simply put, good. Be the songs from Something Corporate, be them from Jack's Mannequin, be them b-sides, a-sides, live performances, demos...you get the point. The songs are just good. The question is: how good?
The Glass Passenger delivers, really, an era's worth of music spanning post-cancer Andrew. The four b-sides for this album: Cellular Phone, Doris Day, At Full Speed, and Sleazy Wednesday are all great songs that really could (and probably should) be on the album. Couple that group of songs with the 14 songs spanning almost a full hour on the actual record, and well, you have an era's worth of music after a long, eager wait for The Glass Passenger to arrive.
It is cliche to say that an album is the sum of its predecessors, but I unfortunately will resort to doing so with The Glass Passenger. Providing the punch of "Window," the mood of North, and the friendly, piano-potent brilliance that is Everything in Transit, The Glass Passengers offers all of the prior and perhaps more, with front-heavy vocals playing a large factor that distinguishes this album from those prior. The bottom line is, I love this album.
The album begins with a punch, with the sing along "Crashin'," which is really just a fun song that sets the mood for the album, both lyrically and musically. "Spinning" becomes one of the best tracks on the album, a sort of in your face pop ballad, setting the mood for the more serious, "Swim" which, at this point, is my favorite song on the album. It builds up nicely, and once you know the song, the anticipation of the bridge and final chorus is nothing shy of exciting. "American Love" is one of the weaker tracks I have heard from Andrew, but it is what it is, and therefore has its place. "What Gets You Off" is one of the tracks I was referring to when I mentioned the album is vocally-driven. Andrew layers his voice nicely on this track, and I think this becomes another very solid song, spanning five minutes. "Suicide Blonde" is more pop-oriented and very catch, which very nice piano-delays and a fun chorus. "Annie" is a different song that comes together nicely as his vocals begin to pile up on one another, and the synth on this song is beautiful. "Bloodshot" is another in your face track with dazzling musical arrangement, and is certainly not stripped down. The piano works really well with the bass, especially at the end, so much so that my car stereo can't seem to handle it. "Drop Out" isn't one of my favorites, but it's a nice song that fits. "Hammers and Strings" is simply gorgeous and builds up powerfully, becoming one of the best songs on the record. "The Resolution" gets the 'single' tag, but it is certainly a great song, a sing a long of sorts that reminds me of Something Corporate's Leaving Through the Window. "Orphans" is another one of the weaker tracks, but with that said, it is nice, short, and provides a good transition to the epic "Caves," which is really built in three parts, with a fantastic piano bridge. "Miss California" is another brilliant song, ending the album with in upbeat fashion, with soaring piano, vocals, the whole works of what has always made a great "Andrew" song.
I won't dare to rank The Glass Passenger among the other three major works of Andrew. Some may find it to be the best yet, with so much musical arrangement and solid vocal performance. It is probably his most diverse-sounding album that certainly takes more risks than Everything in Transit. With that said, some may find this to be his weakest album yet. Maybe, maybe not. I will say this, that if he found a way to put Cellular Phone in place of American Love, and At Full Speed in place of Orphans this album might become that much stronger. But again, this is an era of music, and the songs on the album are simply on the album. "The Glass Passenger" certainly won't garnish the same Amazon ranking as Everything in Transit (310 out of 326 rating it with 5-stars: I think that's the best fan-reviewed album I have ever seen on here). Take that as it is, but no one can deny the one thing that all of Andrew's music has in common. It's good.