Meet the new Used. Not the same as the old Used. Though there's plenty of old mixed into their new sound.

Taking their cue from the likes of Green Day and My Chemical Romance, the Utah post-punk screamers are swinging for the fences on their third album. And connecting.

Easily their most ambitious, expansive and sophisticated effort to date, the 11-track Lies for the Liars finds the band -- frontman Bert McCracken, guitarist Quinn Allman and bassist Jeph Howard and new drummer Dan Whitesides -- upping the ante with everything from classical strings to funky horns to electronic stutters to classic rock riffs from the '70s.

But backpackers needn't fear: The band's most impressive achievement here might be their ability to renovate their sound without destroying the emotional and musical heaviness of their walloping, throat-shredding post-hardcore.

The result is nothing short of their biggest, boldest and best work.

And a disc that makes you realize that the band has the potential to survive and surpass the screamo craze they helped define. No lie.

Here's the track-by-track rundown:

The Ripper 2:55

The guys bust out of the gates and hit the ground running with this hard-charging post-hardcore barnburner. In what will soon become a familiar pattern, a thundering guitar riff and mosh-ready beat are graced with plenty of stylish arrangement and production touches -- electronica textures, tape manipulations, choirish vocals and even a dash of 7/8 time to keep us off balance. A killer opener.

CHOICE LYRIC: "Time kills. Go ask Jesus."

Pretty Handsome Awkward 3:32

Last time we heard a blues-rock guitar lick and a cowbell-plonking backbeat that swaggered like this, we were listening to Aerosmith's Rocks. Come to think of it, Bert's scream has more than a little Steven Tyler in it on this cut. Then again, Aerosmith never wrote a bridge this gloomy and ominous -- or a chorus that kinda reminds us of Iron Maiden.

CHOICE LYRIC: "Your dream vacation is my hostage refuge."

The Bird and the Worm 3:45

Speaking of gloomy and ominous -- not to mention just plain creepy -- the band breaks out the pizzicato strings and grim Gregorian-chant vocals for this grandiose classical-metal waltz set in Marilyn Manson's haunted ballroom.

CHOICE LYRIC: "He wears his heart safely pinned to his backpack. His backpack is all that he knows."

Earthquake 3:29

Between the midtempo beat, the shimmery guitar melody, the vibrating strings, the anthemic chorus and Bert's yearning vocals, you could call this a power ballad -- emphasis on the power.

CHOICE LYRIC: "I can taste it, this blood in my mouth. This knife in my lungs. Have I murdered for love?"

Hospital 2:56

The beat switches from choppy and punchy to bashing and propulsive, while glitchy electronics and ghostly vocals colour in the margins and Bert wails about a car accident that may or may not be a metaphor.

CHOICE LYRIC: "You're quiet on the car ride home. You're waiting for your head to explode."

Paralyzed 3:12

A bouncy retro-rocker about love and violence, starring a funky melody banged out on a rickety old piano, supported with punchy horns and set to a finger-popping gait. Another song with some serious '70s overtones -- and once again updated with some squelchy electronics.

CHOICE LYRIC: "I'm just a statue. Try to knock me out."

With Me Tonight 3:06

Another bouncy groove, more horns, some poppy backups and a totally catchy chorus make this the most commercial tune The Used have ever penned -- at least until the blistering solo kicks in during the massively heavy bridge.

CHOICE LYRIC: "This ghost haunts me more than it should be."

Wake the Dead 4:13

Some gloomy rumbling and Bernard Hermann strings set a spooky atmosphere. Then the band rips that apart with grinding guitars and an off-kilter groove. The creepy backups bring back the hellish mood -- though the angelically wailing female vocal and heavenly choir in the bridge balance things out a bit.

CHOICE LYRIC: "Tonight could be a beautiful night to die."

Find a Way 3:21

The looping collage of clicks, clacks, stutters, bells and vocal samples recall the beginning of Pink Floyd's Money. The grandiose ballad that follows, not so much.

CHOICE LYRIC: "I love you to death. Could you love me to death?"

Liar Liar (Burn in Hell) 2:52

The boys crank up the sirens -- and crank up the energy one last time -- for this searing, cathartic anthem fuelled by Bert's expletive-laced revamp of the classic kids' taunt.

CHOICE LYRIC: "Liar, liar, pants on fire, and the pills go down and get you higher."

Smother Me 6:17

An old acoustic piano anchors this last-waltz ballad. As the band gently kicks in and the strings swirl, a surprisingly tenderhearted (and tender-voiced) Bert yearns to be the one who calls you baby all the time. Stay tuned for the hidden bonus track -- a half-minute bit of electronica silliness apparently called Quesadilla.

CHOICE LYRIC: "Hold me too tight."