The Used

The Ocean of the Sky EP

Written by: LF on 16/09/2013 18:55:20

American rock band The Used has existed for little over a decade and has so far recorded five albums and a number of EP's, the most recent of which is the EP "The Ocean of the Sky". It sports the band's usual brand of theatrical alternative rock that fans will recognize from earlier releases but in a rawer version than can be found on the recent album "Vulnerable" from 2012.

The first song is the explosive and quick-paced "Iddy Biddy" which starts the EP off with a regular guitar-attack. It has a recognizable and catchy chorus but doesn't have much melodic nuance to it. This also goes for the more emotional "Quixotica" which carries much of the same vibe as heard on "Iddy Biddy". The pace is then brought down with the melancholic ballad "Thought Criminal" which is very melodic but otherwise boringly repetitive. Title track "The Ocean of the Sky" spices things up a bit and is the best song of the EP for me as it has a melodic consciousness similar to "Thought Criminal" but doesn't get as boring as it combines this with the energy and distortion of the first tracks. It fades out midway into a blur of noises and snippets of people speaking or screaming which could be expected to be an interlude before a decent last song.

But no. Instead we get "Tethys". This last track lasts for 20 minutes and continues where the previous track left off: with more noise. At first I thought I would categorize this as a go at ambient music by The Used but it's not even that. As far as I can hear there's no real continuity or development in it as it's mostly just a collection of machine noises, beats and drones. While probably great to fall asleep to I really don't see what this is doing on a recording by The Used. It is obviously an experiment but it's hard to imagine the sounds on "Tethys" doing anything for the band's general sound.

So what could have been a decent EP from a decent rock band ultimately fails to impress. The four songs on the EP has the appeal of bringing some raw guitar-based energy to the otherwise more electronic sound of The Used's latest full-length but they don't stand out in any other way. This combined with the fact that the last experimental track lasts for little over half of the EP's length makes this an ultimately disappointing experience.

5

Download: The Ocean of the Sky, Iddy Biddy
For the fans of: My Chemical Romance, Lostprophets, older The Used
Listen: Facebook

Release Date 09.07.2013
Anger Music Group / Hopeless Records

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