On the day Jack's Mannequin finished mastering their 2005 debut, Everything in Transit, frontman Andrew McMahon was diagnosed with leukemia. Already known for his intimate lyrics — Transit aired the details of his breakup with a long-term girlfriend — he addresses his illness head-on. The Glass Passenger is a candid portrait of survival that reunites McMahon with the piano rock of his old band Something Corporate. Album highlight "Caves" begins with a quiet reflection — just falsetto vocals against a piano melody — before the singer erupts over a fury of guitars: "We're not gonna lie/Son, you just might die/Get you on that morphine drip." Elsewhere, lush orchestration adds depth to the ballad "Annie Use Your Telescope" and uplift to the midtempo "Crashin," where McMahon imagines life after recovery. "Even if your voice comes back again," he sings, "maybe there'll be no one listening." He shouldn't worry: With plain-spoken songs like these, he's already made a more honest album than many of his emo peers.