And so we go across a sprawling 16-song tracklist. It’s an epic, overflowing with ideas and fresh influence and – for the most part – it takes advantage of the available mod-cons, bending them to its will for a vision that feels deeper and more rounded than anything its makers have written in years. The quirky pessimism of Wow, I Hate This Song will be capable – if rumours are to be believed – of holding its own onstage with anything a reunited My Chemical Romance might spring, while 1984 (infinite jest) feels like a stunningly high-minded blindside, cheekily heralding 'the real black parade.'
The dazzling production does, however, occasionally rob compositions of that rough-hewn sense of identity fans have come to know and love, with Bert – once a truly feral presence – sounding almost interchangeable with the likes of Brendon Urie or latter-day Patrick Stump on tracks like Bloody Nose, which should really have ‘The Used’ stamped all over them.
Even a final-third flurry of cameos struggles falls victim to that overproduced anonymity. Featuring blink-182 legend Mark Hoppus, The Lighthouse is a surging, arms-in-the-air earworm with a breezy aesthetic and simple chorus line (‘I can be your lighthouse...’) that’d fit on any Top 40 rundown, but feels throwaway in context. That other blink legend Travis Barker fares slightly better with Obvious Blasé, which packs a little more complexity beneath an equally polished surface. Fortunately, Beartooth frontman Caleb Shomo’s contribution to The Cabaret feels much more convincing, unfolding with the topsy-turvy of some demented cabaret before falling into an utterly cataclysmic breakdown.
That confidence sees us home on a vertiginous high. Darkness Bleeds builds its fiery fist-in-the-air anthem around a marshmallowy bassline, feeling truly original. Then heartbreaking closer To Feel Something dares to be Linkin Park at their most fragile and innovative. 'I just wanna feel something,' Bert begs before an avalanche of synths wash us off into a sea of static.
It’s a fitting end to one of the 2020s most sensational returns.
Verdict: 4/5
The Used's new album Heartwork is out now via BIG NOISE/Hassle Records – order your copy here.