The Used

(Reprise)

Kurt Cobain created a monster when he openly screamed about his less-than-social feelings to an audience that was the entire world. Sure, punk had its followers and metal had a nice collective force going, but Cobain was the first to scream these emotions in a way that everyone could understand.

My theory is that he is the grandfather of emo and whiny rap-rock like Korn. Not that there is anything wrong with the emo or Korn genre, if you can even call it that. It just seems that many of the bands of today are focused on their feelings more than anything else, particularly their bad feelings.

The Used is a good example of this.

This is a breakup record. But what happens when they donât feel ăusedä anymore? The band sounds like a young Incubus with fewer ideas. There are some high points with ăBlue and Yellowä a quasi-optimistic radio-friendly track on a ăstill havenât found what Iâm looking forä tip. And the single ăBox of Sharp Objectsä is a melodic/screaming love song The Used does it in its own way.

One thing singer Bert McCracken needs to do is slow down and deliver the verses instead of trying to race through them and get to the chorus.

Overall though, this band could find itself landing an opening slot on the next Family Values Tour if the record catches on, but with the current shift in musical trends happening right now, itâs hard to say what the fate of this band will be.