Just a year after
Toxic Positivity
,
the Used
released a second full-length born of the same recording sessions,
MEDZ
. Comprising the "remaining" songs that weren't put on the preceding set, this one is more stripped back, aggressive, and without as many studio production tricks as
. The opening trio of the title track, "Fuck You," and "People Are Vomit" is enough to catapult this younger sibling past its elder, with unhinged and energetic ragers that really take listeners back to the early days. Hearing
Bert McCracken
's signature vocal warble-wail on the spook show "Terrified" is an additional treat. If one is forced to choose between the two,
is the one to start with for pure energy and catharsis ("Pain Is My Therapy" is the mantra here), a potent blast of punked-up misanthropy for all ages. ~ Neil Z. Yeung