The Used Band • Page 66

Hoping they repress ILAD for the 20th anniversary

 

I'm listening through their discography for the first time ever (aside from hearing a couple singles many years ago). It was interesting reading about them in Where Are Your Boys Tonight? because they were the band from this scene that I pretty much completely missed as a kid. Thought the self-titled was kind of hit or miss, but "The Taste of Ink" is great. In Love and Death is way more varied than I expected, and it mostly all works. I had this impression that they were mostly a screamy band, but Bert's voice is impressively versatile on those early records. I'm on Lies For the Liars now, and the hooks are huge on this one.

 

The self-titled has no misses. But otherwise, yeah I love those first three and Artwork has grown on me a ton since it came out. Make sure you listen to Shallow Believer too!

 

I am a big LFTL apologist. That record is so incredibly "Feldmann", but it makes for a really cool listen.

 

That's another thing that I've been thinking about as I listen to these albums for the first time. Feldmann being on board from the beginning means they sounded better than most of their peers at the time, and I have to imagine that helped them a lot. I don't think Bert can write like Geoff Rickly or Gerard Way, but the self-titled pops sonically in a way that Bullets and Waiting and even Full Collapse don't.

 

I love this guy

 

Bert does have a pretty great voice. Also I've been listening to the discography in full for the first time in years as well and I'm actually surprised at how much screaming is there after the first album. Even on Artwork and Vulnerable there's some cool screaming parts where for some reason I remembered them completely gone.

I'm not sure there'll ever be another scream that hits like those first two records for me though, just such a perfect sound.

 

Translating the name is a hard beat…but agree it’s near perfect

 

You know how sometimes you have to listen to a song a few times before it finally clicks with you? "Light with a Sharpened Edge" came on shuffle yesterday and it had the opposite effect for me hahaha. I used to really like it...

 

that song is so good.

 

Most of that album just sounds so watered down and plastic to me.

 

Self Titled is their best but I listen to ILAD most often of any Used album

 

I don't hear that at all. I listened to it in full for the first time in a while the other day and while it's definitely a step down from the first album I think it's a really good attempt at a poppier version of their sound. I think the only song on there I don't love is Cut Up Angels and even that's decent.

 

I only listen to self titled with any kind of regularity, unless an ILAD song comes on a random playlist or something. "Take It Away" rules.

 

I think that's what I mean by "watered down and plastic." There's nothing wrong with poppy music, but I dunno... The Used just isn't THAT band to me. I saw them throwing up all over the stage in small clubs back in the day. So ILAD has just always been a little off to me.

 

s/t
ILAD
Artwork
LFTL
Heartwork

Imaginary Enemy
The Canyon
Toxic Positivity
Vulnerable

 

yeah, I was the opposite, I got into them with ILAD/LFTL before I even liked screaming and the self-titled became my favourite over time so they've always been a very poppy band to me. Especially now looking at their career which is mostly poppy.

 

The Used
In Love and Death
Shallow Believer
Lies for the Liars
Artwork
Toxic Positivity
Heartwork
Vulnerable
The Canyon
Imaginary Enemy

 

Didn't love Artwork on my first run through it. I kind of see what they were going for with the "gross pop" label, but it feels like sort of a half measure. It might work better for me if the production was more out there. Obviously hyperpop was like a decade away from breaking at that point, but I kept wanting more weird electronic moments, like the crazy static fade in the outro of "Men Are All the Same."

 

The Used
ILAD
Shallow Believer
Artwork
Heartwork


LFTL
The Canyon
Vulnerable
Ocean Of The Sky



Toxic Positivity
Imaginary Enemy

 

Totally makes sense then why you and I would have different taste when it comes to The Used. I pretty much stopped following them as closely after ILAD. I've listened to everything once or twice out of curiosity, seem a couple times post ILAD too, but yeah, I have a real soft spot for the first album and those early days.

I went sledding with Branden, I used to have a pair of Bert's headphones that he left at my friend's house, I've been to Jeph's house while the living room was covered in MCR's tour gear, I played guitar and jammed "The Taste of Ink" with their brief second guitarist playing drums, I was at their first show after being signed, etc. So yeah, to me, that's The Used. And it's hard to put up blinders to nostalgia and memories when listening to their later material.

 

Sound Effects and Overdramatics is such a heater

 

I mean we still both think the debut is easily their best, most definitive sound haha. I can just appreciate most of what came after too.

 

Best song on that album for sure.

 

Ocean Of The Sky wasn't the best songs but it had such a raw feel that I was super excited for the next full length

And then they put out Imaginary Enemy. Cry was solid but there's three listenable songs max on there lol