Jackson United

Harmony And Dissidence

[2/5]

Before he was Dave Grohl’s right-hand guitarist in Foo Fighters, Chris Shiflett played lead for skate-punk lifers No Use For A Name so it’s no surprise that his side project, Jackson United, offer up arena-sized hooks alongside roaring attitude. But given Shiflett’s penchant for letting others have the spotlight, it’s also no surprise that many of the songs are instantly forgettable. For Harmony And Dissidence, Shiflett smartly enlists his fellow Foos (Grohl and Taylor Hawkins split drumming duties on the record) to give guts to brawn like “Black Regrets” and add a Clash-esque groove to “Damn You.” It’s all immature and inessential, though-except for the hook-laden “White Flag Burning” and the piano-laced skank-a-thon “Stitching,” neither of which hit the heights of Foo, but could at least hold their own with the best of Jimmy Eat World. (ACETATE) Jeff Miller