Lies for the Liars

Lies for the Liars
A box-headed creature sitting in a chair on a black hill
Studio album by
The Used
ReleasedMay 22, 2007 (2007-05-22)
StudioFoxy Studios, Los Angeles, California
Genre
Length39:41
LabelReprise
ProducerJohn Feldmann
The Used chronology
In Love and Death
(2004) 		Lies for the Liars
(2007) 		Artwork
(2009)
Singles from Lies for the Liars
  1. "The Bird and the Worm"
    Released: April 3, 2007
  2. "Pretty Handsome Awkward"
    Released: August 21, 2007

Lies for the Liars is the third studio album by American rock band the Used. It was released on May 22, 2007, and was certified gold by the RIAA on February 28, 2019.[1]

Background

On September 12, 2006, it was announced that drummer Branden Steineckert left the band.[2] However, a day later, Steineckert explained that he was in fact kicked out of the band: "Quinn, Bert and Jeph have agreed that they no longer want to play music with me."[3] In addition, they added that recording was nearly done.[4] However, two months later the band was still working on the album.[5]

In total, the band recorded 19 songs, from about 40 that were written in preparation for the album. Dean Butterworth of Good Charlotte recorded the drums for the album.

Release

On January 17, 2007, Dan Whitesides, formerly of New Transit Direction, was announced as Steineckert's replacement.[6] From mid February to early April 2007, the band co-headlined the 2007 edition of the Taste of Chaos tour.[7] On February 24, Lies for the Liars was announced for release in May.[8] "The Bird and the Worm" was made available for streaming on March 19[9] through AOL Music,[10] and released to radio on April 3.[11] In April, the band performed in the UK as part of the Give it a Name festival.[12] A music video for "The Bird and the Worm" was released on April 26.[13] A behind-the-scenes video of the music video was released on May 11.[14] Lies for the Liars was made available for streaming on May 18[15] through their Myspace account,[16] and released four days later through Reprise.[9] The special edition version includes a bonus DVD, slightly different artwork, special casing, and a 24-page booklet packed with vibrant images of the band and Chadam. The special casing is fashioned to look like a book, with the pages within holding several photographs of the band and different fictional characters as well as the lyrics. The DVD has a 20-minute feature on the making of the album.[17]

The group were initially planned to appear on the Warped Tour from late June to early July.[18] However, shortly prior to the beginning of the tour, it was announced that McCracken would be having vocal surgery, which forced the band to abandon the tour.[19] A music video was released for "Pretty Handsome Awkward" on July 23, 2007.[20] The song was released to US alternative radio on August 21[11] and released to UK radio on September 3.[12] From mid August to early October, the band went a tour of the US with the Bled, Army of Me and the Josephine Collective, which included an appearance at the X96 Big Ass Show radio festival.[21][22][23] In between this, the group performed on the main stage at Reading and Leeds Festivals in the UK.[12] Following the tour, the group went visited Australia and New Zealand on the Taste of Chaos Down Under tour.[24] Further tours of Japan and Europe were undertaken in November.[21] A demo version of "Smother Me" was posted on the group's Myspace on November 29, 2007.[25] A few outtakes from the recording sessions, namely "Dark Days", "Slit Your Own Throat", "Devil Beside You", "My Pesticide", "Sun Comes Up", "Sick Hearts" and "Tunnel", were released on the Shallow Believer EP in February 2008.[26]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic(58/100) [27]
Review scores
SourceRating
AbsolutePunk(62%) [28]
AllMusic [29]
Alternative Press [30]
Blender [31]
Entertainment WeeklyB [32]
Hot Press(3/5) [33]
IGN(7.7/10) [34]
The New York Times(average) [35]
NME(4/10) [36]
Now [27]
Spin(6/10) [37]
Stylus MagazineB− [38]
Twisted Ear [39]
The Village Voice(unfavorable) [40]

The album peaked at number 5 on the Billboard 200. It charted at number 39 in the UK and became the group's fastest-selling album in that country.[12]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Quinn Allman, Bert McCracken and Jeph Howard

No.TitleLength
1."The Ripper"2:56
2."Pretty Handsome Awkward"3:32
3."The Bird and the Worm"3:45
4."Earthquake"3:29
5."Hospital"2:56
6."Paralyzed"3:13
7."With Me Tonight"3:06
8."Wake the Dead"4:14
9."Find a Way"3:21
10."Liar Liar (Burn in Hell)"2:52
11."Smother Me" (with hidden track "Queso")6:17
Total length:39:41

Additional track information

The Used recorded 19 songs during the Lies for the Liars recording session. The 8 b-sides from the session are titled "Dark Days", "Devil Beside You", "Silt Your Own Throat", "My Pesticide", "Sun Comes Up", "Sick Hearts", "Pain" and "Tunnel". The b-sides were released as bonus tracks from select retailers and later appeared on Shallow Believer. "Tunnel" is the only track that is different between the early bonus track release and Shallow Believer release a year later. A hidden track was also included titled "Queso" which is a 29-second song that is about a quesadilla. Though it was first released on the Used's MySpace in late 2006, most fans talked about it on message boards and thought of it as a joke, it was not expected to actually be on the album. A demo version of "Smother Me" was also posted on the band's MySpace page.

Best Buy bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
12."Dark Days" (later appeared on Shallow Believer)3:49
13."Devil Beside You" (later appeared on Shallow Believer)3:45
Rhapsody bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
12."My Pesticide" (later appeared on Shallow Believer)3:07
13."On My Own" (Live, same track from Maybe Memories)2:26
f.y.e. bonus track
No.TitleLength
12."Slit Your Own Throat" (later appeared on Shallow Believer)3:04
Target bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
12."Tunnel" (later appeared on Shallow Believer)3:46
13."Maybe Memories" (Live, same track from Berth)3:11
Japanese bonus track
No.TitleLength
12."Devil Beside You" (later appeared on Shallow Believer)3:47
Total length:43:39
iTunes bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
12."Pain" (later appeared on Shallow Believer)4:29
13."A Box Full of Sharp Objects" (Live, same track from Maybe Memories; pre-order only)2:56
Special edition DVD
No.TitleLength
1."The Making of Lies for the Liars"19:23

Personnel

Charts

Chart performance for Lies for the Liars
Chart (2007) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[41] 5
Austrian Albums Chart[42] 48
Canadian Albums Chart[43] 3
German Albums Chart[44] 61
New Zealand Albums Chart[45] 38
UK Albums Chart[46] 39
US Billboard 200[47] 5

Certifications

Certifications for Lies for the Liars
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[48] Gold 500,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

References

  1. ^ "Gold & Platinum". Recording Industry Association of America.
  2. ^ "Branden Steineckert leaves the Used". Alternative Press. September 12, 2006. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
  3. ^ "Branden Steineckert: "I was kicked out of the Used."". Alternative Press. September 13, 2006. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
  4. ^ Wippsson, Johan (September 12, 2006). "The Used Without A Drummer..." Melodic. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  5. ^ Roth, Kaj (November 27, 2006). "The Used Close To Completing The New Album". Melodic. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  6. ^ Roth, Kaj (January 17, 2007). "The Used Tired Of Screamo On The New Album". Melodic. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  7. ^ "Dates for Taste Of Chaos '07 revealed". Alternative Press. December 1, 2006. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  8. ^ Roth, Kaj (February 24, 2007). "The Used's Lies For The Liars". Melodic. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  9. ^ a b "Stream the new Used single". Alternative Press. March 19, 2007. Retrieved August 10, 2016.
  10. ^ Winberg, Pär (March 20, 2007). "Hear The First Single From The Used New Cd". Melodic. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  11. ^ a b "FMQB Airplay Archive: Modern Rock". Friday Morning Quarterback Album Report, Incorporated. Archived from the original on March 22, 2013. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
  12. ^ a b c d Pretty Handsome Awkward (Sleeve). The Used. Reprise Records. 2007. PR016410.{cite AV media notes}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  13. ^ "The Used release "The Bird And The Worm" video". Alternative Press. April 26, 2007. Retrieved August 12, 2016.
  14. ^ "The Used release "The Bird And The Worm" making-of video". Alternative Press. May 11, 2007. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  15. ^ "The Used post full-album stream of Lies For The Liars". Alternative Press. May 18, 2007. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  16. ^ Winberg, Pär (May 19, 2007). "New Album By The Used Streamed On Myspace". Melodic. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  17. ^ The Used – Lies For The Liars (CD/DVD) Archived 2007-09-05 at the Wayback Machine. SmartPunk.com. Retrieved on 2011-12-24.
  18. ^ "Throwdown added to Warped 07; Madina Lake drop off". Alternative Press. April 26, 2007. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  19. ^ "Bert McCracken to have vocal surgery; Used cancel Warped". Alternative Press. June 27, 2007. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
  20. ^ Paul, Aubin (July 23, 2007). "The Used: 'Pretty Handsome Awkward'". Punknews.org. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  21. ^ a b "The Used to tour following McCracken's surgery". Alternative Press. July 13, 2007. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
  22. ^ Paul, Aubin (July 17, 2007). "The Used / The Bled / Army of Me / Josephine Collective". Punknews.org. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  23. ^ Paul, Aubin (October 3, 2007). "Social Distortion continue adding more dates". Punknews.org. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  24. ^ "The Used, Rise Against, Aiden on Taste Of Chaos Down Under". Alternative Press. June 8, 2007. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
  25. ^ Paul, Aubin (November 29, 2007). "The Used: 'Smother Me (Demo)'". Punknews.org. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  26. ^ Roth, Kaj (February 22, 2008). "The Used B-Sides Ep Available Now". Melodic. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  27. ^ a b "Critic Reviews for Lies For The Liars". Metacritic. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
  28. ^ Beringer, Drew (2007-05-22). "Used, The - Lies For The Liars - Album Review". AbsolutePunk. Retrieved 2011-12-24.
  29. ^ Lies for the Liars at AllMusic
  30. ^ Pettigrew, Jason (2007-07-25). "The Used - Lies For The Liars". Alternative Press. Retrieved 2011-12-24.
  31. ^ Blender review Archived September 30, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  32. ^ Sinclair, Tom (2007-05-25). "Lies for the Liars Review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2009-01-08. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
  33. ^ Keane, Mark (2007-05-28). "Lies For The Liars". Hot Press. Retrieved 2013-09-15.(subscription required)
  34. ^ Thompson, Ed (2007-05-22). "The Used – Lies for the Liars". IGN. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
  35. ^ Sanneh, Kelefa (2007-05-21). "New CDs (The Used: 'Lies for the Liars')". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
  36. ^ Silver, Dan (2007-05-31). "Album Reviews – The Used (Lies For The Liars)". NME. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
  37. ^ Kelley, Trevor (2007-05-25). "The Used, 'Lies for the Liars' (Reprise)". Spin. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
  38. ^ Bradley, Jonathan (2007-06-15). "The Used - Lies for the Liars - Review" Archived 2007-07-18 at the Wayback Machine. Stylus Magazine Retrieved 2011-12-24.
  39. ^ "Twisted Ear review". Archived from the original on June 25, 2007. Retrieved June 25, 2007.{cite web}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  40. ^ Shinefield, Mordechai (2007-05-22). "The Used's Lies for the Liars". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2013-09-15.[permanent dead link]
  41. ^ "australian-charts – The Used – Lies for the Liars". australian-charts. Retrieved 2011-07-29.
  42. ^ "The Used – Lies for the Liars – austrian-charts". austrian-charts. Retrieved 2011-07-29.
  43. ^ "The Used – Chart History – Canadian Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 2011-07-29.
  44. ^ "German Album Charts – Search for The Used". musicline.de. Archived from the original on 2012-10-10. Retrieved 2011-07-29.
  45. ^ "charts.nz – The Used – Lies for the Liars". charts.nz. Retrieved 2011-07-29.
  46. ^ "Chart Log UK (1994–2008) U2 – Utopia". Zobbel. Retrieved 2011-07-29.
  47. ^ "The Used – Charts History – Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved 2011-07-29.
  48. ^ "American album certifications – The Used – Lies for the Liars". Recording Industry Association of America.

External links