Then, the band made a move that had many doubting if any new music would be released at all: they left Warner Bros./Reprise Records. It’d been a strong partnership, resulting in such certified gold and platinum full lengths as The Used and Maybe Memories. For the first time in 10 years, the foursome, originally from Utah, were without a record label.
Yet The Used isn’t the kind of band to stay down for the count. Instead, the band partnered up with Los Angeles-based indie label Hopeless Records to form Anger Music Group, which will serve as an imprint on the label. How this partnership will serve the band’s music compared to their time on Warner/Reprise remains to be seen, but for the time being, the band is riding a high.
“It’s an exciting time,” says the always blunt lead singer Bert McCracken, reached on the phone on what he describes as a “rainy Pasadena day.”
“There’s lot more work than expected,” he continues. “We just started this business with Anger, but we’re still incredibly excited. I’d say it’s the most exciting time of my career, right now.”
The launch of Anger Music Group won’t see the band maintaining a strict focus though. Instead, they’ll be utilising this renewed energy by dipping their toes in every form of art possible.
“It’s an all-encompassing art business. We want to cover everything. Not just music but physical art; painting, sculpting, everything. Anything that has to do with creativity. Fashion, food and everything in between.”
For many musicians, the relationship between art and commerce can be a particularly dicey one. Aside from the constant threat of getting involved with big business and being labelled as ‘sell-outs’ by fans, musicians have to contend with their artistic integrity being compromised and the final product suffering.
Yet McCracken is taking his 10 years under Warner as a learning experience. With the upcoming release of Vulnerable, the band’s fifth full-length, McCracken pulls no punches about how he views the business end of The Used; he simply could not go down without a fight.
“For 11 years now I’ve said I’m an artist and not a businessman. Nowadays, to say that, it’s a huge copout. I don’t want to lie around and let people make huge decisions for me. It all came at a perfect time, with so many labels collapsing too. We’ve always wanted to do things on our own with a certain amount of artistic freedom.”
There’s no doubt that the band utilised heavy doses of artistic freedom on Vulnerable. Written almost entirely on a computer and a keyboard, Vulnerable sees the band trading in their propulsive, hardcore edge for a sound much less forced with a lot more room to grow.
Make no mistake however; The Used has not gone soft. Instead, McCracken insists the band had no choice when it came to their new approach to songwriting.
“It’s definitely what we needed for this album. I don’t really have a preference as far as jamming out new songs live or dissecting songs as they come. I think it was more circumstance; everyone has a lot going on in their lives now. Clint just got married, Dennis just got married and had a baby. It was more circumstance than us going in a different direction so to speak.”
“I’m glad it worked out the way it did,” he continues. “We have a crazy blend of sounds on this record. It definitely doesn’t get boring; there’s a little bit of every kind of music on this record.”
When it’s put to McCracken that this shift in sound could alienate some of the band’s longtime fans who ascribe to a strict policy of how The Used should sound, you can almost hear McCracken shrugging his shoulders.
“With the lyrical approach and with the emotional content within these songs, I think that this is definitely Used music. It’s not like we went all Kid A on people,” he chuckles. “I’m sure there’s stuff on here for even the most ‘hater’ of all our fans.”
Those fans got their first taste of Vulnerable with I Come Alive, the first single. What begins with a murky build soon materialises into one of the more anthem-like choruses the band has ever penned. For McCracken, it’s a fairly representative track.
“The song also sums up the attitude of the record; we want to change the idea of being vulnerable from a negative to a positive thing. This record is all about reflecting on life’s successes and failures. And how we handle both of those things.”
With Vulnerable, the band seemed to have handled their successes and failures quite well. Major label or not, the band has finally looked themselves in the mirror. And they like what they see.
“In every way, being vulnerable not just defines the state of the band right now. From moving to a major label to something much smaller. And it also speaks to my state of mind. About a year ago, we were playing this tattoo convention in Southern California. I fell off the stage and broke my hand and my elbow. I was really down for the count. I wasn’t creating anything or doing anything. But from that broken spirit came this fire of creation and ability. We recorded 12 songs in 12 days, and it all came from those feelings of vulnerability. If we allow ourselves to be vulnerable enough to fall in love, it becomes the most amazing thing in the world.”
BY JOSHUA KLOKE
