The Used
Lies For The Liars

THE REVIEW

After the overwhelming debut that was the self-titled, the much less overwhelming sophomore album "In Love And Death" (completely slammed by earthly critics), and the horrendous Live CD (after only two albums?) "Berth" (which, to be clear, sucks as much as the name they gave it), the Used come back with a vengeance with this "Lies For The Liars".

Unfortunately, with this album, the band hasn't made great strides forward compared to the previous one: a bit more electronics, always omnipresent and even somewhat intrusive production, a slight shift towards dance-rock shores, and the total abandonment of the (already few) "new-emo" tracks that characterized the previous albums. Now, if someone likes bands like Panic! At The Disco and Fall Out Boy, in "Lies For The Liars" there are at least a couple of tracks they can be quite happy about, particularly because they're heavily copied from the aforementioned bands.

Those like me who instead hoped for a heavier sound from the (boy?)band, an abandonment of radio-friendly tunes always and in any case, or at least a songwriting that ventures beyond verse-chorus-verse-chorus-end, will be left high and dry.

Not that the album is unlistenable; actually, all the tracks are quite catchy, from the more "driven" ones like "The Ripper" or "Liar Liar (Burn In Hell)" to the inevitable sappy ballads, through the aforementioned danceable pop/rock tracks ("Paralyzed", "With Me Tonight"), but they exhibit a disarmingly lack of substance and consequently tend to become "cloying" rather quickly.
"Pretty Handsome Awkward" could even be a nice piece of "light" rock (pardon the term), if it weren't so derivative from the first riff, and (especially) if the chorus weren't worthy of the next Vodafone commercial (annoying). "The Bird And The Worm" on the other hand is very pleasant with its dark and Burtonesque atmosphere, complete with plucked violin strings, creaking doors, and Gregorian chants, but it's a (small) light in the most total darkness... too many choruses, too catchy, too produced, too eager to please, not powerful enough, not genuine, not at all deep: that's what "Lies For The Liars" is.

Considering they had three years to work on it, it seems fair to say that much more could have been expected.