Review Summary: The Used might have "Used" up a bit of their gas on the first two, but they had JUST enough left in the tank to crank out a very interesting and different third release.
The Used (as of the recording of this album is):
Bert McCracken - Vocals, Piano
Quinn Allman - Guitar, Backup Vocals
Jeph Howard - Bass, backup vocals
Dean Butterworth (of Good Charlotte) threw down the drum tracks for this album, but is not a part of the band. Their former drummer left the band prior to this release/tour.
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I listened to "The Used" first off and right after I heard the first couple lines of Maybe Memories, I was sucked in. Just completely sucked in. The steady drum beats followed up with great bass grooves, all topped off my Quinn Allman's interesting riffing proved to be a great force. And, let's not forget the lyrical and vocal genius of Bert McCracken. McCracken's vocals were the icing on the cake on that first album. So, I had high hopes set for "Lies for the Liars".
1) The Ripper: When I first put this CD in, the opening grunt and the guitar riff smacked me in the face. All of that followed by catchy lyrics and interesting used of electronics made me think two things right off the bat. First of all, I knew this would not be the same Used record I heard in their Self Titled. And secondly, I knew that this record was going to be much more experimental, musically than their other records. And I couldn't find a way to prove myself wrong, here. This song churned out a beautiful chorus right into another aggressive verse, with McCracken's overlapped screams coming from all directions. The clean vocals on this song are noteworthy, especially during the chorus. The simplicity of the riffing is also something to recognize. This song just goes to show you that it doesn't take complicated riffs to be catchy. The song ends with a half-assed Used breakdown, featuring McCracken's screams right into the chorus for one final hoorah. I love this song, but I give it more props as an opener.
2) Pretty Handsome Awkward: I had my first brush on this song when I saw Transformers in 2007. This song caught me as being surprisingly catchy, and that simple little guitar riff was something admirable. The simplicity of this song sometimes kills me, because it takes that one little riff and makes a whole song out of it. But of course, they pulled it off. I'm saying this song is catchy. I'm not at all saying it's a masterpiece. This song is a typical radio gold. Great material for a single. The Used played their cards right with this song. Low use of screams and a high-octane catchy chorus = Radio Gold. Props for this song. But still, a good 3 out of 5 at best, in my book.
3) The Bird and the Worm: I first heard this song while I was flicking around MTV way back in the day and happened to catch this insanely creative video. The song starts off with a slow fade in of noise, right into low cello notes and high violin string pluckings. McCracken's voice comes in little by little as the song builds up to a big chorus. At this point in the song, McCracken's voice soars, Quinn plays a great octave riff, and the drum tracks are JUST right. Not too complicated. They hold a steady beat. And they're FUN to listen to. At this point, the verse kicks in again in a more hardcore kind of fashion. McCracken's vocals are especially noteworthy as they become borderline creepy. Then it soars up again into that chorus, this time complete with more of a punch. The song then takes a slighly irritating break into an instrumental harmonizing guitar riff, but packs a punch with a breakdown complete with solid drumming and especially good vocals from the boys. Then up to the chorus once more. I like this song. Catchy. But, seems to be out of place. Looking at the first two songs before it, this album doesn't have a certain shape. Placement of this song made me worry a bit.
4) Earthquake: Pop-punk anthems are a dime a dozen today. That's just the reality. When I heard this song build up into a slow poppy verse I was hoping that this would get pulled off. Because I knew what they were going for with this one. The verse slowly started to take shape and then out popped a soaring chorus propelled my Bert McCracken's expertise. The vocal lines for the chorus made this one a keeper and really hit it home from me. But, it's still an "eh" kind of effort in my book. It then slowly fades into...
5) Hospital: At this point in the album, I have heard an upbeat energetic punk-ish song, into a very relaxing steady rock piece, right back into a dissonant hardcore masterpiece, and that was all topped off with pop-punk ballad. At this point I'm only thinking, what is next? Next comes a completely poppy upbeat song in "Hospital". The intro works it's way up into a mellow but still upbeat chorus with obvious comparisons to My Chemical Romance in mind. The song then takes an electronic turn and actually takes a small electronic interlude complete with various noises and spoken words by McCracken. Then it all zips up into that nice little chorus again. You get the idea. Mediocre at best. Catchy as hell. But really not delievering in full.
6) Paralyzed: This song puts this album in it's place for me. The beginning "hums" from McCracken and the echoing guitar notes churn up slowly into a powerful opening complete with a painful scream from McCracken. The song chugs along with a steady beat and catchy guitar line. The verse builds up with overlapping guitar licks and ends in a catchy chorus which grabbed me instantly. The whole sequence repeats except with a little different of an approach and then overlapping harmonics send it into a nice breath of air of an interlude. The song explodes into a new part complete with trumpets and McCracken's seemingly real cries. The song then backtracks to the chorus and an outro reminscent of the interlude. This song is by far my favorite on the album, and kept me interested.
7) With Me Tonight: The song picks up right where Paralyzed left off with mellow guitar licks, with a poppy edge. This song screams out Earthquake Part II after the chorus. And then the trumpets kick in once more. This piece seems to be out of place here, but to be truthful. It's not. This song is a small breath of air and is neccesary for me as a listener, personally. Punch after punch doesn't prove well. But this song takes an interesting turn as McCracken's screams appear in the background and this song hits you unexpectedly with a breakdown complete with the bone-shattering screams echoing in the back of your headphones. Of course, it all loops around again to the catchy chorus and slowly morphs into...
8) Wake the Dead: At this point this album has gone to a million different places and I need to know for sure which direction it's indefinately going. This song packs a punch with an opening guitar riff with a sample of a high pitched scream. McCracken's clean vocals shine hear as they come in complete with a little spice. A scream is then let out after the oh-so catchy chorus, and the song definately places itself inside the top 3 of this album. McCracken's clean vocals become especially the rave here after this song. After the song takes an interlude takes a lounge-like break complete with violins and a serenading from Bert McCracken, and at the right time, Quinn chugs in for that stereotypical half-assed Used breakdown right back into the chorus. This song shows the versatility of the band and the obvious songwriting talents that they have grown to have. Props to Dean behind the skins for this track as well.
9) Find a Way: Well, every album has it, everyone. The one song that was regrettably thrown on. The opening sound effects scream "Money" by Pink Floyd as McCracken's cleans come in with some unexpected major chords from Quinn, who boasts an Acoustic Guitar on this track. The song then takes a poppy, "Billboard Top 10" sound. Bert's cleans have never been this high. The song is not bad. It is just way too out of place on a record like this.
10) Liar Liar (Burn In Hell): This song fades in as "Wake the Dead" did two tracks earlier. Then, the same generic riffing fueled by an open scream by McCracken help get this track started. This song is very upbeat, very fit for this album, as it goes into a very mildly catchy chorus and right into an electronic section. But I'm sorry. The generic songwriting style of this album + a chorus consisting of "Liar Liar, Pants on Fire" does not seem fit enough for me, here. The little catchy perks of this song are not enough to propel this song anywhere into the Top 5. An unimpressive effort here.
11) Smother Me: The album ends here on a decent note. At this point i have been impressed, very impressed, dissapointed, and very dissapointed. So I was riding a lot on the success or failure of this final song. The song starts with a slow piano part and a great vocal line by McCracken harmonizing with a backup female singer. The song then fades in with a steady beat and great acoustic guitar part. At this point, the harmonizations are great and even bluesy at some points, truely an example of experimental genius. The song then changes keys up as the song gets ready to head for home base, now complete with the open hi-hat crashing and the bluesy harmonizing. The song then leaves you with the same catchy piano part and vocal part, both brought to you by Bert McCracken.
All in all. I am not a fanboy. I am just trying to tell you how it is. This album through me every type of pitch. It through be straight up fastballs, reminiscent of straight-forward pieces "Pretty Handsome Awkward", and "Liar Liar". It threw me interesting, but not out of place curve-balls, in form of "Paralyzed" and "Wake the Dead". And to be honest, it threw me a knuckle-balls in the sense of, I had NO CLUE where this song was going. I received that thought after sitting through "Find a Way", pretty much. So in general, this album is the definition of multi-genre and experimental. An impressive closer, a better opener, and a body filled with a mixture of amazing compositions and catchy hooks left me with a great impression. This album will have without a doubt the widest range of comments out of the four Used releases thus far, but I dare say this album belongs up there as one of they're better works. But by no means does it leave me with the impression that they don't have more work to do and some definite room for improvement.
The album displays tons of amazing songwriting. But, I blinked and found myself listening to something completely different 4 minutes after the fact. A good effort leaves me to give the Used a 4/5 on they're third release, "Lies for the Liars".
