The Used - Artwork

Wow, that was a fucking terrible summer with no internet. Fuck my life. Back at it. Let's bitch about some music. Here we go.

Utah based rock band the used have spent the last seven years cranking out consistently strange and abrasive bursts of blood curdling screamo and radio ready grunge punk sing-along’s like “The Taste of Ink” and “Take It Away”. Their first two stellar releases, 2002’s The Used and 2004’s In Love And Death became genre defining milestones for the recent crop of Warped Tour standouts they left inspired in their wake. However, 2007’s Lies For the Liars (the only Used album to sell less than 500,000 copies), while certainly an excellent album, seemed a little to experimental for some Used diehards, and as a result the band has fallen off the map a little bit in recent years. Fast forward to 2009: The Used have released Artwork, a definite return to form and the most cohesive body of music the band have released since their debut. Part of the credit should certainly be placed on producer Matt Squire, as this is the first time the band have worked with anyone other than Goldfinger front-man John Feldmann manning the boards. Squire, mostly known for his work with pop punk acts like Panic At the Disco and All Time Low, injects a little Top 40 cleanliness into the usual rasp-and-howl of lead singer Bert McCracken. Yes, McCracken has certainly made strides in the last few years, as he now sounds like a singer, instead of a screamer trying to be a singer. The album’s lead single “Blood On My Hands” is perhaps the best vocal performance McCracken’s well worn pipes have ever produced, and “Meant to Die” would definitely not be out of place on a pop radio station. The Most Improved Band Member award however, goes to guitarist Quinn Allman. Allman’s axe work has taken a back seat on previous records, but his distorted, noodling crunch singlehandedly forms the backbone of Artwork. For once, all eyes are not on McCracken. The album’s second track, “Empty Without You”, with its’ intricate, electronic sounding picking sounds like Allman has been taking guitar lessons from AFI’s Jade Puget, while “Born to Quit” features one of the best opening riffs of 2009. If you’ve loved anything the Used have put out before, you will enjoy this album immensely. Artwork showcases a band that has finally found their sound after years of soul searching, and oh, what a sweet sound it is.