The chorus is annoying, the "You're so careless, carelessssssss" parts are really annoying, and I think the lyrics are pretty poor on the whole but there's some solid lines. The subject matter just seems kinda childish to me.
I've never actively liked Kicking Your Crosses Down and never will. I'll listen to it within the context of the album, but if it came on shuffle, i'll skip it. I remember being disappointed when they played it live back when I saw them open for Thrice.
It doesnt rub me as childish or annoying at all, but to each their own. I just like the more aggressive CS songs and I love the bass and guitar solo. I dont think id call any of AGs lyrics trite or childish considering how well they read and the topics he delves into be they personal or not. I guess in hindsight saying Imaginary Enemy is the best/my fav CS song was kinda not true since In The Morning And Amazing, Lazarus, and The Lottery exist
hahaha i thought youd get a kick out of some of those. oddly enough after i typed that out i listened to like 3/4s of those songs
I agree with all arguments that you can't judge when someone became a fan or how big of a fan they are based on what songs they like the most. i like circa when they are being weird and obtuse. So songs like I felt free that are straight forward and imo bad lyrically really don't capture why the band is important to me. I accept them as what they are, gateway songs.
Juturna and OLG got me into them but BSN was the first cycle I was a fan for from rollout to release, and OLG is my fav but BSN is almost right there with it
I've been a fan since Juturna came out. Saw them on the original Alternative Press tour that spring where they headlined with Cute Is What We Aim For lol
I just played Juturna, it's great and holds up. I like all their albums, BSN is the most different from any of the others, but still feels like them.
To clarify, I don't hate BSN at all. I just think the two songs under discussion ("I Felt Free"/"Imaginary Enemy") are its low points and probably the least appealing work they've done to-date. Also, I totally get that some early fans still like those songs for what they are. I just meant that talking about one or both of those being your favorite from their entire catalog is probably a good indicator that you got into the band later. It's hard to imagine someone being a massive fan of Juturna/OLG back in the day, then hearing IE for the first time and going "omg, this is the pinnacle of their career!" I do understand and accept that they changed course on BSN, and enjoy many of those tracks for what they are. For example, "Fever Dreams" or "Dyed in the Wool" sound nothing like the first two records, but I love them. That being said, the two songs mentioned above are just flat-out weaksauce to me, regardless of context.
Get Out and I Felt Free are my two favourites on BSN and I like them more than anything they've done since then.