The Used have released their highly anticipated tenth studio album, ‘Toxic Positivity’ via Big Noise. Over 20 years into their career, ‘Toxic Positivity’ is everything fans have come to know and love from The Used – straightforward, in-your-face, destructive, and vulnerable all at once. Working together with longtime friend and collaborator John Feldmann to produce the album, ‘Toxic Positivity’ is filled with The Used’s signature sound, earworm hooks, and erratic riffs.
Described as a “day-in-the-life journey of a depressed, anxiety-ridden person” by vocalist Bert McCracken, the tell-all record shares the highs and lows of depression and addiction through a cohesive body of work, speaking to the ever-changing headspace that he was experiencing at the time of writing. “This record is quite tough for me to listen to,” he adds, “because it’s a reflection of times in my life that have been some of my lowest ever.”
Absorbed front-to-back in its finished form, ‘Toxic Positivity’ pulls from every facet of The Used’s definitive sound. There’s the buzzsaw riff of ‘Pinky Swear (Save Me)’; the sweeping, arena-sized chorus of ‘Headspace’; the riveting hooks of ‘The Worst I’ve Ever Been,’ and the underlying pop sensibilities of ‘I Hate Everybody.’ Displaying a depth of sonic variety while never allowing an inch of slack into its taut cohesiveness, this is the past, present, and future of The Used represented in 11 tracks that combined barely break the half-hour mark.
‘Toxic Positivity’ tracklist:
01. Worst I’ve Ever Been
02. Numb
03. I Hate Everybody
04. Pinky Swear
05. Headspace
06. Cherry
07. Dopamine
08. Dancing With a Brick Wall
09. Top of the World
10. House of Sand
11. Giving Up
The Used will be returning to the Troubadour in Los Angeles this Saturday, May 20th, for the first time since 2020. To celebrate the release of ‘Toxic Positivity’, The Used will be playing an intimate sold-out show with special guests Felicity.
For as long as he can remember, McCracken has used music as an outlet to lay bare his innermost thoughts and emotions. For 23 years, that writing has enabled The Used to deeply resonate with fans the world over. Exploding off the back of universally adored rock anthems such as ‘The Taste Of Ink,’ ‘Take It Away’ and ‘Pretty Handsome Awkward,’ the many millions of streams and record sales (including the platinum-certified The Used and In Love And Death) their career has yielded are one thing; the human connection formed between artist and audience is priceless, however. To that end alone, The Used can consider themselves four of the luckiest and richest men in music.
‘Toxic Positivity’ speaks of the strength of the band’s collective collaboration and also their innate, unquenchable thirst to create. “I think we have no choice but to write and write and write,” says McCracken. “It has always just been in us, and we’ve had to get it out. I read a quote once that said you either work your entire lifetime on four great pieces, or you write thousands of pieces and become great that way. Everything that we feel, I think it always makes for a good song.”
In that regard, McCracken is humble to a fault, for the simple fact that the songs within ‘Toxic Positivity’ are far more than merely good songs. They mark the latest chapter in a truly great career. And, like those that have come before them, they will truly matter.
Next week, The Used is hitting the road with Pierce The Veil on the Creative Control Tour. The epic co-headliner kicks off on May 23rd in Austin, TX, making stops across the U.S. and Canada in Tampa, Toronto, Baltimore, New York, Grand Rapids, Irvine, and more before wrapping up in Phoenix, AZ on July 2nd with support from Don Broco, Deathbyromy (May 23rd – June 10th), and Girlfriends (June 12th – July 2nd).
Creative Control Tour:
*with Don Broco and Deathbyromy
May 23rd – HEB Center @ Cedar Park – Austin, TX
May 24th – The Fillmore Harrah’s New Orleans – New Orleans, LA
May 26th – Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa – Tampa, FL
May 27th – Mizner Park Amphitheatre – Boca Raton, FL
May 28th- The Saint Augustine Amphitheater – St Augustine, FL
May 30th – Coca Cola Roxy – Atlanta, GA
May 31st – Nashville Municipal Auditorium – Nashville, TN
June 2nd – RBC Echo Beach – Toronto, ON
June 3rd – Pier Six Pavilion – Baltimore, MD
June 5th – The Rooftop @ Pier 17 – New York, NY
June 6th – Virginia Credit Union LIVE! – Richmond, VA
June 7th – Toyota Oakdale Theatre – Wallingford, CT
June 9th – Skyline Stage @ The Mann – Philadelphia, PA
June 10th – Cross Insurance Arena – Portland, ME
*with Don Broco and Girlfriends
June 12th – Stone Pony Summer Stage – Asbury Park, NJ
June 13th – The Rooftop @ Pier 17 – New York, NY
June 15th – Wind Creek Event Center – Bethlehem, PA
June 16th – UPMC Events Center – Moon Twp, PA
June 17th – Blossom Music Center – Cuyahoga Falls, OH
June 19th – GLC Live @ 20 Monroe – Grand Rapids, MI
June 21st – The Andrew J Brady Music Center – Cincinnati, OH
June 22nd – The Sylvee – Madison, WI
June 24th – So What?! Music Festival – Dallas, TX
June 28th – The Complex – Salt Lake City, UT
June 29th – Grand Theatre @ The Grand Sierra Resort – Reno, NV
July 1st – FivePoint Amphitheatre – Irvine, CA
July 2nd – Arizona Financial Theatre – Phoenix, AZ
September 10th – Blue Ridge Rock Festival – Alton, VA