Is Blow Me a good indication of what the rest of the record sounds like?
“If we picked out any one song, it would be a bad indication. A little bit like [2007’s] Lies For The Liars, this record is a force of many colours. It’s got so many different sounds you’d be really surprised from one song to the next, how different it is. But it still cohesively sounds and feels like The Used.”
What other themes will these new songs be exploring?
“I think we’re talking about the same things that kept The Used relevant for this long. We’re talking about love in life and heartache and mortality. We’re talking about the state of the world and communication and media. We’re talking about ignorance, and eradication from ignorance. We’re talking about friendships and cages. I think we recorded 26 or 27 songs that we love, so we’re going to have a really awesome B-sides record, too.”
You’ve got John Feldmann producing again. What drove that decision?
“He is on fire. He’s one of the most talented songwriters on the planet, and I’ve said it in interviews before, but nobody works harder than John Feldmann. He will be up before you and have two songs written before you even get up, and then he’ll
work all day long until you’re way too tired. He’s a force of nature that I’ve not come across on this planet before. I’m so glad we stayed friends; we had a really rough couple of records together, and I can be such an absolute fucking dickhead sometimes. I’m just so grateful that we’re still able to make music together.”
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You recorded previous album The Canyon live to tape. Is that something you’ve moved completely away from now?
“It’s just so time consuming and expensive. It takes so much fucking time and effort, and it’s really trying on the band. I mean, we learned a lot, and, for any band out there thinking about recording: if you attempt to record those songs live, it’s going to be some of the most brutal and worthwhile rehearsals you’ve ever had. Jeph [Howard, bass] and Dan [Whitesides, drums] got so much tighter as a rhythm section. It’s incredible. But it’s just so tough. And I like playing around in the studio with ideas and being able to go in and replace something. If I want to change a lyric or a melody real quick, I can just do it on that one part.”
How did it feel making the record in the studio this time?
“The last record was so trying, and towards the end it almost felt like, ‘This is not fun. This is actual work.’ With this record, every day just felt like a short little adventure. Feldmann’s so positive and the band is in such a good place. Everyone was so in the moment and so present. I never had any homework – all the lyrics were finished right there and then, and if they weren’t, we stayed ’til they were. It’s crazy to say I’ve never worked harder on a record because of the last record, but I feel like this was more fulfilling work. It wasn’t like trying to drag something out of myself.”