REVIEW: Neck Deep 'All Distortions Are Intentional'
Neck Deep are back with their new album All Distortions Are Intentional, released on Friday, July 24th via Hopeless Records. This album contains themes of disconnection, existential confusion, and the search for meaning. These conceptually rich concepts are relatable and give listeners an uplifting sound, while also touching on some important topics and themes.
For All Distortions Are Intentional, Neck Deep teamed up with one of the music industry's top producers Matt Squire, known for recording artists such as Panic! At The Disco, Ariana Grande, and One Direction, to record in the famous Monnow Studio. The studio has also hosted great talents such as Oasis, Led Zeppelin, and Joss Stone. The decision to record in such a prestigious studio, along with a top-of-the-line producer at home in Wales, was an important and personal one. Recording back at home meant they not only take pride in where they came from, but also wanted some form of acknowledgment of that to come through in their music both literally and figuratively.
Leading up to this release, Neck Deep had released five singles from the album, including “Sick Joke,” “I Revolve (Around You),” “Fall,” ''When You Know,” and “Lowlife.” After hearing the album, it is clear that these singles are the most energetic on the album and are some standouts, apart from one or two others. The singles are incorporated into the album well so that listeners can fluidly move between songs that they know and the songs that have yet to be released.
Neck Deep stays true with their style, though their sound has shifted slightly from their 2017 album The Peace And The Panic. It seems as though Neck Deep are changing around their sound (not as much as Bring Me The Horizon) while still staying true to their pop-punk roots. The Peace And The Panic made these Welsh boys mainstream and the band reached the #2 charting position on the U.S. Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart, though this album does not quite check all of the same boxes.
The songs on All Distortions Are Intentional range from uplifting pop-punk tracks, to slow tunes, to a different type of sound that we haven’t really heard from the band. It seems as though the band is trying to promote their message to whoever wants to hear it and some of the tracks sound more spoken to the listener, which pulls them to listen to not only the music, but the lyrics as well. Speaking on “I Revolve (Around You),” Ben Barlow, singer of Neck Deep, states, “Musically, it’s hard-hitting and impactful, and features one of my favorite ever sections in a Neck Deep song where I got to channel my inner Tom DeLonge, which for a song about space I feel is pretty fitting!” Looks like the band isn’t holding back on what they want to do and are happy to replicate some of the sounds and techniques of their influences.
All Distortions Are Intentional shows a side of the band that is confident in their sound. Having gone through the musical journey that made them who they are today, the album shows a sense of maturity not fully seen in previous releases. As the fan base has grown vastly larger, Neck Deep has proven themselves and what they mean to the people who listen to them.
This album is based on a story about a loner named Jett, who was introduced during the music video for “Lowlife.” Jett lives in Sonderland (the name of the first track on the album), which represents a combination of “Wonderland” and the somewhat obscure word “sonder,” which is the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own with unique ambitions and worries. Ben Barlow, the singer of Neck Deep, explains, “It’s that strange existential realization that you are not the entire world. Everyone around you feels and lives the same way that you do. You’re just an extra in their story.”
Though there is a well-thought-out storyline for the album, some of the songs fall short. The band does have a variety of different sounds on the album, but it seems as though they could have changed up the order of a couple of tracks because the songs seem to run together. It almost feels as though you are waiting for something to happen or hear something that catches your ear that makes you tune back in. The album does end with an uplifting and catching beat, with a strong message, to close out the album and end Jett’s story.
Make sure to give All Distortions Are Intentional a listen today. Even though their sound is a bit different, these pop-punk boys are proud of this album and after all this time, this could be what all Neck Deep fans have been waiting for.
Streaming links, exclusive bundles and all things All Distortions Are Intentional can be found here.