I remember some blockbuster movie used the instrumental version for their trailer! Found it! Still sounds epic to me..
*obligatory Artwork is better than Lies all day every day post* When I die, write Artwork is a masterpiece on my tombstone so I can stay on brand even in the afterlife.
Not doubting that.. Honestly I never gave that album a proper chance/listen. I was expecting a follow up in similar fashion to LFTL maybe even more experimental and what I got? Dull-back-to-basics production, an album sounding like a bunch of unfinished raw demos.. that was a downgrade, a step backwards, as much I loved them I didn't force myself to listen it. Yo Gerard.. Bert is way much better live singer than you! Stop hating
Talking about downgrading.. Here's one more from their glory days.. If only they kept that style.. they could be so much bigger..
I'm glad they didn't use Feldmann again lol. Vulnerable was pretty decent but most of LFTL was an overproduced mess for me. Bird and the Worm is great but most of Feldmann's choices on that album I didn't care for.
Artwork took about four full listens for me to like it when it came out. It's a solid album. But those first couple listens just did nothing for me for some reason.
I've grown to enjoy Artwork but it'll always be one of the biggest disappointments I've ever had. When it came out The Used were still probably a top 5 band for me and I didn't like anything on there except Empty With You.
I must be the weird one bc I was disappointed when Lies came out but Artwork just blew me away on my first listen. It was exactly the direction I had wanted them to take.
Lots of different opinions going on here! I honestly think I need to give Artwork another blast. I wasn't huge on Lies when it came out minus a few select tracks (I think we can all agree the liar liar song is terrible) and I kinda of thought they were jumping on the theatrical direction loads of bands were pushing back then. The first two albums are still top for me.
If you take out the troll-ish "Liar Liar" and mehhh "Hospital" the rest were (still are) pretty enjoyable songs in my personal opinion. I remember a lot of hate back then "Over-produced garbage with some ridiculous first grader lyrics LIAR LIAR PANTS ON FIRE" It's not like I'm a sucker for glossy-pop mainstream sound, one of my all time fav. albums is "Room on Fire" by The Strokes which is pretty much un-listenable (production-wise) It's just that Bert shines so much better in over-produced songs, do you know many artists who can pull out a song influenced by MJ "Lunacy Fringe" and then bring the chaos with "Sound Effects and Overdramatics" on the same album? LFTL kept that contrast and style going on, songs maybe weren't that strong like the first two albums but their unique style and identity was there.. till "Artwork" came out and they dropped a style that took them 3 albums to achieved That disappointment.. You were not the only one... So I gave "Artwork" a proper listen and you were all right.. I liked 9 out of 11 songs on this album, "Blood on my Hands" and "On the Cross" are the weakest tracks in my opinion. The catchy melodies were still there, buried under that dull production..
Listening back through Artwork again really reminds me how extremely underrated that album is. The way the absolutely dark and grungier/heavier music meshes with the HUGE pop catchy choruses works so well. The way Bert sings on that album sounds so geniune as well, he really sounds like the lyrics are things he NEEDS to get out
Ya, I feel like if that album came out today it would’ve been recieved a lot better. I know for me, when that album came out I had different expectations than what it delivered so I was disappointed by it. It grew on me over the years and I would now consider my 2nd fav Used album.
How is Artwork a disappointment after Lies? That doesn't seem to add up. Take Lies out of though, the album opens with the amazing guitar work with Blood on my Hands and then just never stops. Empty Without You is classic Used. Born To Quit rocks. Kissing You Goodbye is amazing ballad. Album just keeps going strong and ends with two of their best songs. Disappointment does not compute
Like I said, for me it was my expectations. I had expectations of them going back to the S/T and In love and Death stuff. At the time I clinched onto them talking about how Artwork was going to be more raw sounding like S/T and diverse like IL&D. Then I heard the first two singles and I wasn’t into them at all. Then the album came out I was disappointed bc I didn’t see how the album aligned with what they were saying about it. You know that alternate version/mix of On The Cross? That’s what I was expecting from this album when it came out.
I never heard the alternate verison, I'll have to find it. I think Artwork sounds pretty grungy and dark compared to Lies, but I had no idea they dropped the hype bomb of comparing it to the first two. What a mistake lol. Nonononono. So wrong.
Empty With You, Sold My Soul, The Best of Me... such HUGE songs, especially the chorus to Sold My Soul, an absolute highlight of the band's career. Also, the Kissing Me Goodbye reprise coming into the end of Men Are All The Same is really amzing
The Artwork love is warming my heart!! I think my least fave song on there is prob On the Cross but I love all the songs. The Best of Me, Sold My Soul, and Empty With You are def my top 3 though. I also somehow forgot about the B-sides and haven't listened to them in quite awhile so I gotta get on that tonight.