Jacks Mannequin

7 p.m. Wednesday, April 15. Touhill Performing Arts Center, 1 University Drive at Natural Bridge Road on the campus of University of Missouri-St. Louis.

By Annie Zaleski on Wed, Apr 8, 2009 at 4:00 am

Jacks Mannequin

$5 for UMSL students, $15 for the general public. 314- 516-4949.

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The arrival of spring — a time when the wistfulness of winter gives way to the promise of warmth and rebirth — is the perfect occasion to break out Jack's Mannequin's two albums, 2005's Everything in Transit and last year's The Glass Passenger. Ebullient piano, sugary pop harmonies and bright California rock barely conceal each album's melancholic undercurrent, from Transit's odes to heartbreak to Passenger's triumphs over mortality. Optimism wins out on the latter album, due to euphoric moments such as the string-laced "The Resolution" and the Fleetwood Mac-like "American Love." Continuing its trend of hitting St. Louis multiple times a year, Jack's Mannequin will also be in town on July 3 opening for fellow piano rockers the Fray.