Plain White T,s Raue

When Bert McCracken says that the songs that comprise Toxic Positivity are some of the most sincere he has ever written, you know he doesn't speak those words lightly. For as long as he can remember, McCracken has used music as an outlet to lay bare his innermost thoughts and emotions. For 23 years, that writing has enabled The Used to deeply resonate with fans the world over. Exploding off the back of universally adored rock anthems such as The Taste Of Ink', Take It Away' and Pretty Handsome Awkward', the many millions of streams and record sales (including the platinum-certified The Used and In Love And Death) their career has yielded are one thing; the human connection formed between artist and audience is priceless, however. To that end alone, The Used can consider themselves four of the luckiest and richest men in music. "Humans share such similar experiences and similar tragedies and everything in between," McCracken says of the intimate connection he has with people in all four corners of the globe. "I feel that if I'm writing honestly, and I'm writing from the heart, our fans will feel it. "This record is quite tough of me to listen to," he adds, "because it's a reflection of times in my life that have been some of lowest ever." If most albums are a document of a singular time, a place, and a feeling, then Toxic Positivity can lay claim to being a document of two, and the journey between them. When The Used entered the studio of longtime collaborator John Feldmann in the autumn of 2021, the result was 10 songs recorded across 10 days that would see McCracken, bassist Jepha, drummer Dan Whitesides and guitarist Joey Bradford spilling sweat and blood for anything up to 14 hours at a time.