The Used brings ‘Artwork’ and heavy pop sound to 9:30

Hearing the story of The Used, you have to wonder how you’d react if you were in a band and the pregnant girlfriend of a member died, a founding member left the group, and you began to work with a new producer. Credit musical passion or brotherhood or just determination, but this Orem, Utah-based band has gone on to thrive with the celebrated release of its latest album, “Artwork.”

“This is the best record we have ever done,” bass player Jeph Howard said. “This is our baby. We are so proud of it and so happy to be touring [behind it].”

The band’s 2007 album, “Lies for the Liars,” debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard Top 200. Although the group’s previous two albums had been certified gold, the band opted to take a chance and work with a new producer as a way to move toward a different, more secure, sound.

The result is 12 songs that move from aggressive to more of a heavy pop sound. To the band members, the sound is the most sincere and genuine they’ve put out since the band’s first album.

“We are so happy touring behind this,” Howard said, noting the band still plays its past hits during concerts. “We mix up all of our records in one show. Hopefully we play everybody’s favorites.”

Although the band has been through so many rough patches, its survival is a testament to the members’ friendships, he said. He notes that Dan Whitesides, the new drummer, has been a major component of that.

“It did get really hard for a while, but our new drummer Dan brought us closer as a band and closer to the music,” he said. “Now the music that we create is so much fun to create and write and play.”

Of course the rhythm section of any band is a tight partnership, so it seemed natural that Whitesides — whom Howard and other band members had long admired and played with — would join the band at some point.

The path was set when The Used began work on “Lies for the Liars,” and Whitesides jammed with the band and wrote most of the drum parts for the songs on the album.

Although the album was named through a misunderstanding — the handwritten word “Artwork” on a folder was thought to be the album’s title rather than the label of its contents — the title perfectly sums up the band’s feelings about its attitude toward music.

“Art and work, live to work, live for art, art is work,” Howard said. “It takes on all different meaning. That’s how we feel.”