Th Used’s latest release, Heartwork, was an immense improvement from the train wreck that was The 1975’s latest record, so that’s a great place to be. It also is sort of a return to form for the band after the more experimental turn they took on The Canyon. Not that I disliked that album at all, but it’s a nice dose of nostalgia when a band from your formative years of music go back to the old style.
Heartwork started out really strong with the opening track and sort of rolled right through the next handful at the same speed. All of them were fast-paced and aggressive, which I love from them. Then of course, you can’t forget that Bert McCracken has almost angelic vocals, so I was not surprised when the songs slowed down a little bit. It also felt like that was the natural progression of the album. Sort of like a story was being told both lyrically and with tempo.
There were also a lot of notable guests on this album! Travis Barker lent himself to the drums on “Obvious Blase,” and fellow Blink-182 member Mark Hoppus lent his vocals to “The Lighthouse.” A little lesser known, but no less cool were the vocals of Caleb Shomo (Beartooth) and Jason Aalon Butler (Fever 333), contributing to “The Lottery” and “Blow Me,” respectively. Perhaps it was the aid of those vocals that made those latter two songs my favorite off the record!
Another standout to me was the closing track, “To Feel Something,” which just seemed like a showcase for Bert’s vocals along with some exemplary writing. Also, unlike The 1975, The Used opened the album with Bert reading the poem “Paradise Lost” written by John Milton. It just seemed more meaningful having Bert read it, and it also tied into the rest of the album. As I said before, I didn’t mind the Greta Thunberg speech, just not in the context of that album. Either way, this is how an album is made right. Can’t wait to see these guys on tour (hopefully soon).