This came out in 2004 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
If you’ve heard one so-called screamo band, you’ve pretty much heard them all. Unless said so-called screamo band just happens to be The Used.
While these Utah rebels have been lumped in with the shriek-punk crowd, they’ve never confined themselves to the musical temper tantrums of their peers. Their sophomore disc In Love And Death, much like their self-titled 2002 debut, confirms their superiority with a smartly constructed, creatively varied approach.
Sure, there’s no shortage of searing guitars and bashing drums and — yes — lung-busting vocals for the black-clad punk or punkette in your basement. But In Love And Death also offers plenty of softer and more introspective material: Heartfelt ballads, string arrangements and cuts that hew closer to the pop charts than the pit.
Vocalist Bert McCracken is still the loose cannon in the arsenal, jibbering and cackling and pleading and sneering and ranting and raving and speaking in tongues — though his braying is starting to sound kinda like Steven Tyler at times. But the crack musical trio match him swing for mood swing, gracing his fever-pitched fits with their impressive dynamic range and stop-on-a-dime precision.
Whether they’ll end up pleasing everyone or no one with their continuing eclecticism is something to consider. But at least The Used don’t sound like they’re just screaming to the choir.
