Admittedly I was nervous at first to take on this album review; personally, I don’t usually enjoy live albums and find them to be a bit obnoxious with the addition of the crowd and the vocalist’s ramblings, but The Used offer up something cool with this live AND acoustic album. The Used have been around since 2001 which means they have been providing us with raw, emo, and influential music for 15 years now but this album will be The Used’s first release since Imaginary Enemy in 2014. Only one song from that album made an appearance on Live and Acoustic at the Palace but the remaining songs seemed to be carefully chosen from various songs on their first three (and widely more popular) studio albums.

The album opens with a boisterous round of applause from the audience but then quickly fades to an acoustic guitar and the vocalist, Bert McCracken peeping out the first notes of “Tunnel” which was a Target exclusive bonus track off of Lies for the Liars. This song was well chosen for the opener to the album as it is one of the best examples the band provides of a live and acoustic song. Things pick up pretty quickly with “The Taste Of Ink” but my favorite pieces of this album come together with tracks five through seven. “The Bird And The Worm” and “All That I’ve Got” provide the kind of emotion you want from The Used. These two tracks in particular really stand out above the others on this album but not just because they’re widely popular tracks, the addition of a beautiful string section and the vocal harmonies are really what make these tracks shine. This three song stretch easily is the most monumental and beautiful parts of this album, reminding you why you loved The Used so much in the first place. Another emotional moment comes before “Hard To Say” where McCracken had to recollect himself in an attempt to stop himself from crying. This track is one that they have not played live often, upwards of two times McCracken claims, making it another really touching moment for fans/listeners. Towards the closing of the album they covered “Imagine” by John Lennon and did Lennon justice in doing so. The song fit in incredibly well with the rest of the bands song choices and slowed the album down for the last track “On My Own.” McCracken unleashes those gritty yells that fans adore and it makes for a stark and audibly appealing contrast to the serenity this song offers; they could not have chosen a more strong and dynamic note to end this album on.

Overall, I was impressed with this album. I had my worries, but the crowd was not overzealous and did not preoccupy too much sound space and while McCracken did talk a bit too much for my taste, everything he has to say was either important to explaining a song, humorous, or emotional and it never took away from the album as a whole. Live and Acoustic at the Palace screams to the type of emotion and raw energy that fans of The Used have grown to love and know so well. This album is nothing revolutionary but it is very enjoyable and will be an excellent album to jam until the band releases a new full length. 

Track Listing // The Used - Live And Acoustic At The Palace

1. Tunnel

2. The Taste Of Ink

3. Yesterday's Feelings

4. Lunacy Fringe

5. The Bird And The Worm

6. Paralyzed

7. All That I've Got

8. Overdose

9. Blue And Yellow

10. Hard To Say

11. Imagine 

12. On My Own