The track was written by Lifehouse lead singer Jason Wade and Scott Faircloff, who says he felt freedom when writing songs for the album.

An official music video for the song premiered on VH1.com on June 27, 2001, featuring effects to make objects look smaller than they really are.

"[2] In an interview with MTV Radio, Wade explained the message behind "Sick Cycle Carousel" and said, "It's one of those songs I'm really afraid to put an explanation to as far as what it's about for me personally.

[5] John DiBiase of Jesus Freak Hideout called it "a song about the preverbial merry go round we feel like we're on when we keep committing the same sins over and over".

[6] Liana Jonas of Allmusic applauded on how Aniello and O'Brien "brought Wade's vocals and lyrics to the forefront of the mix" for all the songs on the album.

[11] The music video was filmed in June 2001 at an airplane hangar at Los Angeles International Airport and at a Lifehouse show in London.

[12] In an interview with MTV, Wade talked about the idea behind the music video and said, "This is the closest we'll probably ever come to being in a Tim Burton fantasy world.

As the video switches between Wade and the boy, it zooms on the bed frame (which has the same face from the album cover) and opens into another area.

On January 10, 2001, MTV confirmed that Lifehouse would serve as an opening act on a 14-day tour for Matchbox Twenty, who were promoting their album Mad Season (2000).

[14] In July 2001, Lifehouse went on tour with 3 Doors Down as an opening act on 12 select dates, and performed songs from No Name Face, including "Sick Cycle Carousel".

[15] Before they went on tour with 3 Doors Down, the band went on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on June 25, 2001, and performed "Sick Cycle Carousel".