Fighting Jacks are the kind of band that some critics will waste a lot of ink over, arguing whether they’re melodic punk or indie rock or some kind of heavy emo. They’ve complicated things themselves by keeping company with such disparate acts as Papa Roach, P.O.D., Rob Zombie, and Jimmy Eat World (and they share management with Smash Mouth!). Let’s short-circuit the whole taxonomical issue by calling them a rock & roll band that’s not afraid to sing harmonies and equally unafraid to scream when the occasion calls for it. Their sound is big and dense, but malleable — it’s thick and heavy like a handful of sand, not thick and thorny like brambly underbrush. Don’t worry about who else they sound like. Just worry about the fact that their melodies on Dying Art of Life need to be shaped a bit more definitely, except on the exquisite “Whirlpools” and on the album’s powerful lead track, which also features one of the coolest guitar squalls since Elvis Costello’s Blood & Chocolate album. This is all nice stuff, and there’s no reason not to believe it will get even better. – Rick Anderson
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