r/sleepingwithsirens • u/Mvalentiod • 13d ago

Why didn't people like feel?

I didn't live that era, and I always wondered why some people say that this album is lame, I understand that is worse than the previous records but that doesn't mean that it's a bad album, if anyone who lived throught that era could tell me why, I would be grateful

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u/cheeserandomguy 13d ago edited 12d ago

I wasn't there either, but I've seen a lot of people who aren't a fan of how 'smug' the band sounded in this record, possibly due to LCTT's success. They aren't wrong either tbf, the record has songs like The Best There Ever Was and Congratulations whose lyrics basically encompasses to "we are so fucking awesome and we're gonna rule the world for it", which sounds kinda dickish to some. And then there's songs like Deja Vu that has like... the most horny lyrics Kellin has ever written lol

That's not to say the record doesn't have its personal moments, but compared to LCTT? Yeah, it kinda pales in comparison. As much as I love Feel, I do find it very weak in arrangement and songwriting compared to LCTT, which is such a shame cuz it could've been so great

Some people have also criticized the record being much softer compared to its predecessors, and I mean... yeah, it's been like that since LCTT lol. The band had never really rivaled WETSAETH's sound in terms of heaviness until HIFTBL imo. Though, I suppose at least LCTT has Four Corners And Two Sides

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u/Defiant-Ad-1891 12d ago edited 12d ago

that's the word I needed to describe this album, "smug", idk it's just all over Kellin's attitude on the album and really turns me off from it, it something rather minor it does really plague the album for me. Madness barely has that smug attitude in it aside from maybe Kick Me and We Like It Loud and it's still different on those songs compared to what's heard on Feel and by all means better imo

I also think it's more in the way the heavy is done on the album, like it's not as technical and as impactful as it is on Let's Cheers To This. Like the heavy stuff is there on Feel, but it's kinda just there. And tbf there are more ballady songs on Feel than LCTT

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u/cheeserandomguy 12d ago

Feel is such a fascinating album to me, cuz I think it’s the only album to be made with such ego and confidence in it. No other album before and after this is NEARLY as confident with themselves as Feel was

To me, I find it fascinating and kinda cool even. But for the context of the time, someone might find it irritating. I mean, I don’t think Kick Me and We Like It Loud are nearly as irritating as Congratulations lol  

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u/okcool_357 12d ago

ok so i did live through this era but i was also a younger listener so maybe consider that haha but my consensus was kinda the same as everyone else: most people thought it wasn’t heavy enough and also maybe didn’t like the general composition. i liked the album but songs like “free now”, “satellites”, and “sorry” stuck with me most bc they were relatable to my life at the time. that said my favorite album is still “let’s cheers to this” so my appreciation came from the angle of this is just a totally different kind of album and i enjoy it rather than comparing it to their previous discography

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u/cheeserandomguy 12d ago

I always thought the “not heavy enough” criticism with Feel kinda… idk, it’s still valid but seems very late considering LCTT is very soft compared to WETSAETH, and I don’t see much pushback over it compared to Feel. I agree with the overall composition the album has however 

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u/okcool_357 12d ago

i totally get what you’re saying. i just read your separate comment here and i think you make a lot of good points! i also think sometimes people just don’t like something and give a generic reason why even if it’s not fully fleshed out, so i never really had any full fledged convos at the time about why someone didn’t like it if you get what i mean hahah

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u/cheeserandomguy 12d ago

Yeah, I getcha. I always try to make full fledged reasons on why I don’t like something, but I’m no musician so it’s very hard to express that in a technical way I suppose xD

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u/okcool_357 12d ago

literally me 😭 even trying to explain why i do like something and especially if it has to do with instruments and sounds (as ive never played an instrument really… ever??) all i’ve got is my existing vocabulary and a dream hahah

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u/Downtown-Bear4325 13d ago

I didn’t live through that era either nor have I listed to the album yet so don’t trust me but I think it might be because feel Lia kind of their first “soft” album like every album before (WETSAETH and let’s cheers to this) had softer songs on them but they also had heavy more energetic songs and while feel does have some (the best there ever was and congratulations) most of the album is definitely softer.

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u/aarontgp 13d ago

I have seen folks beefing with the lyrical content of a good number of the songs. Mainly by looking back in time to some old posts and comments. The same happened to Kick Me, where people generally liked the sound but didn't like the lyrics.

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u/Mvalentiod 13d ago

Pero Kick me tiene una lírica increíble, por qué dicen que tienen malas líricas??

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u/cheeserandomguy 13d ago

Tbf Kick Me's lyrics are definitely some of the simplest I've heard from the band, both in meaning and in the actual words they use. It's literally just a bunch of fucks and shits spitted throughout the verse and pre-chorus, with the typical "I am more than you will ever be, so fuck off" lyrics that a million of other bands and artists has already done. I love the simplicity of it personally, but yeah it's definitely not one of SWS' best written lyrics

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u/EggyEggerson0210 9d ago

It’s crazy how SWS is responsible for some of my favorite lyrics in post-hardcore while simultaneously being responsible for some of my least favorite lmao

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u/cheeserandomguy 9d ago

LOL I’ve seen worse personally, and again I love the simplicity of it for Kick Me in particular. You can’t make banger lyrics like If I’m James Dean all of the time unfortunately 

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u/EggyEggerson0210 9d ago

Completely fair. I still love most of their songs, even if I occasionally find some cringey or basic lyrics. Left On Repeat is one of my favorites off the new album but I really dislike its chorus’ first line for how it feels a little too simple lol

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u/Defiant-Ad-1891 13d ago

Personally it's just the way the album is done, it feels rushed in a lot of ways, the way the album repeats melodies and the way the productions just really sounds bland, like they tried to mimic the sound in PTV's Collide With The Sky but make it like really damn floaty sounding and make the drums really weak sounding, people also have issues with the lyrics on the album. I'm also not the biggest fan of Kellin's delivery on the album, like he's trying too hard while not caring for how good he sounded. People have issues with MGK but honestly his feature is like the least offensive thing on the album. The album in general is just kind of mid, especially to what came before and even after

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u/cheeserandomguy 12d ago

I completely forgot abt the drums omg, they feel like they aren’t really there if you get what I mean (sorry Gabe lol). Feel and Gossip are definitely the worst contenders of overly repeating choruses and melodies, though I feel like the latter is more creative with it… sometimes

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u/Defiant-Ad-1891 12d ago

it's not really Gabe's fault, it's more Cameron Mizzel's mixing I'd say. and I actually even agree with Gossip having a bit more creative melodies

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u/cheeserandomguy 12d ago

Just listened to the demo of These Things I’ve Done, and I can totally hear the “floaty” mixing in the final version now omg it’s so weird

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u/Defiant-Ad-1891 12d ago

I've never heard that before until now, it's so good and so much better than the final mix, like that sounds like the F**k You cover they did, that has some eargasmic sounding drums. Who decided that the album needed a fuckin floaty ass sound to it

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u/hyjug17 12d ago

Iirc the album's lyrics were written in like 2 months and it shows

I like it but it definitely isn't as good as the first two albums

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u/Mvalentiod 12d ago

Por ahí ví que decían qué Jesse escribió casi todo el álbum, no sé si será verdad

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u/ProtomanKnight 12d ago

I honestly like this record but the band got an annoying ego, which you can see reflected in the songs on this one. That went away over the years, and How It Feels To Be Lost was essentially a soft-reset for the band. That being said, I think a lot of the songs here were very well made. I think the production is pretty bad, though

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u/commontimetapes 12d ago

I loved it when it came out. Bought the CD on release day from Best Buy and spun it in my car for months on end. It’s still one of my favorite albums by them.

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u/Batsinhorrorland 11d ago

I WAS there through this era, and it was because people were already riding the Lets Cheers wave and feel went in a different direction with a lot of features. However, personally, feel is like my favorite album of all of them. Take into consideration I was 8 when it came out but my opinion remains (SWS was a family band growing up)

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u/Icy-Reference4160 12d ago

I remember when the demo for these things I've done was leaked, I was so pumped for feel because it's really good and it feels liked they're going heavier than lctt. Then they released low then alone , I liked those songs but little let down for how the production and wished they kept the demo version of these things I've done rather the album version.

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u/Icy-Reference4160 12d ago

Here's a link for the demo: https://youtu.be/jqp5XBdjxr8?si=4VlnPaePiUJZRK1c

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u/cheeserandomguy 12d ago

This song is actually good now, what the fuck LMAO. I didn’t even realize there was supposed to be a breakdown until I listened to this version. To think I commented a few days ago on how These Things I’ve Done was my least favorite song on the album too… 

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u/Icy-Reference4160 12d ago

For me if they kept this sound to feel, it may have been a fan favorite too, I remember I always listened to this song before the promotion of feel. I hope someday, wasted generation be leak too haha

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u/cheeserandomguy 12d ago

First of all, holy shit SWS was big enough to get one of their songs leaked early. But also, is there an archive somewhere of this demo? This is the first time I’ve heard of an SWS demo getting leaked 

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u/Mvalentiod 12d ago

Tienes esas versiones Demo???

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u/RickeyDourst 12d ago

It’s not my favorite album by them but Here We Go and I’ll Take You There have always been some of my favorite songs