There’s an age-old question: “Could The Used write a chorus so big even they couldn’t pull it off?”
The answer really depends on how much cheese you like in your rock music, but with “Artwork,” the band’s third studio album, they make a pretty good case for themselves. In fact, they may be overselling it. Song after song, vocalist Bert McCracken belts out some variation on the ultra-cathartic chorus, as if to say, “See? I can do it!” ““ again, and again, and again.
A few songs in, just when you’re starting to think it might be time for a change of pace, The Used pull a neat little trick and throws “Kissing You Goodbye” ““ a power ballad so painfully whiny you keep quiet for the rest of the disc for fear that if you complain, they’ll slow things down again ““ at you. The notion of being careful what you wish for comes to mind.
Fortunately, there’s not too much else to complain about. You get another half-hour or so of jagged riffs and overwrought tension-release dynamics, most of which is more polished and less annoying than The Used’s first two albums. The album cover splits the title in two pieces, hinting at a dichotomy between creative inspiration and forced labor. It fits, but not for any reason the band would like to admit; the first half of “Artwork,” for the most part, sounds about as close to art as this sort of thing gets, and the second half sounds like work.
Actually, switch “On the Cross” ““ a high-octane effort even by The Used’s standards ““ with “Kissing You Goodbye,” and you’re left with little reason to keep listening after the fifth song. Songs such as “Come Undone,” in which McCracken screams “I’ll be your loaded gun,” are decent enough, but they don’t bring anything to the table that the first few tracks haven’t already done better.
But keep in mind that these aren’t the standard shout-it-from-the-rooftops kind of choruses. They are about blood and insanity and emptiness and purging one’s soul ““ which is really kind of weird, if you think about it. If these guys are so anguished, where’s all this power pop coming from?
The Used make a pretty odd case study. And if this is the kind of subject matter you prefer, “Artwork” may be a welcome change of pace from the all-consuming darkness that would make a more natural fit. You can get a glimpse of what U2 fans love so much without having to hear Bono sing about a beautiful day.
The title of “Empty With You” gives away their secret: This is about building a community of agonizers.
“It’s okay if you don’t feel anything inside ““ we feel the same way,” The Used seem to be saying. And you can imagine that every time they play these songs to a crowd of fist-pumping vessels of angst, the mood will be positively ebullient. In that way, The Used made a pop pick-me-up out of despair just as Fall Out Boy did with self-conscious posturing, and Good Charlotte with skate-punk cynicism.
“Artwork” can come pretty close to grating at times, but you can be sure that somewhere, right now, there’s a misunderstood teenager realizing he’s not alone. Call it headbanging for a good cause.
E-mail Goodman at agoodman@media.ucla.edu.