Courtesy PhotoThe Used
In Love and Death
Shorter tracks, catchy rhythm sections and more “pop” for our pop-culture comprise The Used’s second release, In Love and Death. The album is less emotional and more straight-ahead rock, borderline punk, with a subtle tinge of musical genius. The album opens with “Take It Away,” a high-energy song with a hard-hitting drum section. It then slides into “I Caught Fire,” which is a radio-friendly love song with minimal screaming. Those who have followed The Used should expect a very different album compared to the band’s last release. The majority of the tracks are not epic and lengthy hard-core / emo tracks. The only song that stylistically resembles the last release is “Sound Effects and Over Dramatics.” Expect this album to get a lot of radio play – it’s slower, happier and has a definitive bounce to it.
It starts with a shotgun blast and then drops into the single “Take it Away.” This first track is more of a punk-style song than The Used’s older songs. The band experimented with a lot of unique and different sounds on this release, courtesy of guitarist Quinn Allman. Listen to the album repeatedly and eventually you hear the complexity and richness of each track. Take an alarm clock, some little kid’s toys, a couple of Pro Tools and some crafty minds, and out comes In Love and Death.
“I Caught Fire” has a lot of busy sounds in the background that come to the forefront during each break. The song is catchy and well-placed on the album. It leads into “Let It Bleed,” which is where you begin to here the hard-hitting kick drum highlighting the bounce in the band’s sound. Overall, the album balances the demands of mainstream pop music while retaining artistic integrity.
-Kevin Farr