Totally. Both of those songs plus “Best Places...” “This Is All Now” and CMITM were everything I was hoping for out of the OG line-up reunion. “Semi Automatic” is no slouch either.
You Can't Look Back is pretty great despite the outro being too long and drawn out. Without putting a ton of thought, my 5 least favorite would be in no particular order.... Up Against Money Catholic Knees Like You Do In The Middle Of It All That last slot especially could prob be filled wiht a bunch of songs that I really haven't listened to enough, especially recently, to really say how much I like/dislike them. The back half of Tidal Wave has some 'clunkers' that I'm not into, I still never really listened much to I'll Let You Live (I know it's a fan favorite but I remember being very "meh" on it for a while and I just stopped listening to it haha...I should throw it back on sometime), etc.
Also as for the S/T demos, I'm still mad someone pointed out this riff sounded too much like Sum41's song because it would have made an already good song better: I still am somewhat dying to know what the lyrics are that John is singing in the background of the choruses of that demo.
I thought about In The Middle Of It All in my bottom five. It feels very very generic, from the lyrics to the instrumentals. I don't think it's a bad song though. It's just kind of there. I feel pretty similarly about Up Against these days too.
Yeah there’s like 4-5 songs on Tidal Wave that I feel that way about...it’s not that they’re very bad or anything...like I don’t actually hate them like I hate Like You Do...they’re just kind of there and meh and I don’t find myself listening to them that much, especially with all the other great songs on that record that I’d rather listen to twice haha
I think that's part of the problem. It's a boring song that doesn't really stick out at all and for some reason they have kept it in their setlist.
My bottom 5 actually would probably be made up solely of self titled songs - that album really is so bad. I do also really hate up against.
Like You Do was the one song I disliked from the last two albums til it clicked for me a month or two ago. Between the s-t/b-sides playlist I posted, no skips the last two albums, and the two new songs that I loved from Twenty I'm loving the reunion output.
I guess I could understand criticism against SIM because the verses don’t have any substance, but the choruses are great (especially the last one) and musicially it’s fun as hell.
I don't hate any vocal parts in TBS history more than the "sharpen your teeth, sink into me" and then "I took full advantage of..." in Cut Me Up Jenny. Just find them so grating personally, so that's my main excuse for shoving those in my bottom 5 lol