In Love and Death

the take

If my review of The Used's self-titled debut album wasn't already telling, I'm a huge fan of the band's early discography. In the grand scheme of things, this album review kind of proves it. For an album that perfectly encaptures the 2004 emo sound, this is one that succeeds in doing so, along with another album. ("Three Cheers", anyone?) With this being my second full listen of the album for the first time since I came across it, I kind of realized that this isn't as strong as it once was on me. That doesn't mean it's terrible, though. FAR FROM THAT. I do appreciate the band for making more slower songs this go around, with "All That I've Got" being my most favorite. The other slow songs on here aren't that strong enough to like more, but I wouldn't mind letting them still play if they come on. They're tolerable, but in a good way. As for the more screamo songs, though it's a slight mixed bag when comparing to those same kind of songs on The Used's debut, they're still fucking fire. "I Caught Fire" is the main reason I keep coming back to this one, but "I'm a Fake" and "Sound Effects and Overdramatics" are just as amazing. "In Love and Death" isn't as good as "The Used" like I thought it was, but I still find myself enjoying it quite a bit.