“Misery is imminent, desolation’s kicking in”
The Used helped to define an entire era of post-hardcore music in the early 2000s, with their blend of kinetic energy and sugary hooks launching them quickly to stardom My Chemical Romance, Taking Back Sunday, and others. In many ways, they’ll always be mentally associated with that specific time and scene.
Because of this, part of what makes the band’s later career releases both exciting and (at times) frustrating is that the band seems to stubbornly rebel against this “nostalgia act” status in ways both large and small. While there’s still plenty of angst in each release, The Used seem to constantly be searching for new sonic avenues as outlets for frontman Bert McCracken’s emotional bloodletting.
The Used’s ninth studio album attempts a similar balancing act to their previous release, 2020’s Heartwork. That album tried to reframe the band’s familiar post-hardcore angst in the context of genre-fluid modern rock, incorporating pop, electronic and R&B flourishes into their core songwriting to somewhat mixed results.
While the group’s refusal to remain stagnant this far into their career is certainly admirable, Heartwork struggled to feel cohesive, particularly on its 27(!)-track deluxe edition. Some of the band’s sonic experiments paid off surprisingly well, but others felt more like window dressing on familiar songwriting tropes rather than genuine reinventions.
Three years later, Toxic Positivity feels very much like the spiritual sequel to Heartwork, for both better and worse. After a somewhat confusing rollout, complete with two 2022 “singles” which were both ultimately cut from the actual album, the album itself arrives with a very lean 31-minute runtime. While the excesses of Heartwork’s tracklist have been cut back in some ways, Toxic Positivity retains much of the restless streak that defined that album.
Opening with the classic-sounding highlight “Worst I’ve Ever Been”, the album thankfully continues The Used’s tradition of putting their best foot forward on their album openers. First proper single “Numb” is also a successful example of the band’s modern pop detours, with a melancholy keyboard intro and skittering electronics serving as a fitting backdrop for McCracken’s more chilled-out vocals in the initial verses, before exploding into an instantly familiar chorus.
However, not all experiments are as successful, “I Hate Everybody” opens with what can only be described as a DJ Mustard inspired beat, and comes off as more corny and desperate than visionary. While few other moments on Toxic Positivity are that ineffective, it does suffer overall from the band stretching themselves too thin at times.
In spite of this, there is still much to like here for longtime fans. The lean runtime allows for a lot of replay value, and the band’s ear for catchy hooks remains firmly intact. While Toxic Positivity could have benefitted from a more cohesive rollout, as well as a bit more focus in its stylistic explorations, those who have been following the band this long will still find the album worthy of their back catalogue.
6/10
Toxic Positivity is available on May 19th via Big Noise Music Group.