When Andrew McMahon made a solo detour in 2004, he did so to find an outlet for material that didn't quite gel with the spiky emo of his main band, Something Corporate. In Jack's Mannequin, he focused on reflective, achingly confessional songs. The outfit's earliest tracks spill over with emotion: “Bruised” frames ambiguous heartache in melancholy chords and sighing melodies. Later tunes, especially those recorded in the wake of McMahon's successful treatment for leukemia, like the wryly anthemic “Hey Hey Hey (We're All Gonna Die)”, have a heft that evokes Springsteen and Elton John.