Nearly three years since their last release, Neck Deep is back with their fourth studio album, All Distortions Are Intentional.
Returning after their last effort The Peace and the Panic, it’s clear that Neck Deep has taken the past three years to do many things but the biggest for their music was grow up. In the past, some have said that Neck Deep is a bit too reminiscent of their high school years even though they hadn’t stepped into a school in many years most likely.
All Distortions Are Intentional is the perfect response to those critics. The album opens with Sonderland, which was one of the first Easter eggs teased when the new Neck Deep era came about. It talks about politics and social studies and while the pop-punk guys may not want to talk about them 24/7 they definitely acknowledge that they’re happening. This is something that their early albums would have never grasped.
As the album progresses it reaches back out to that standard Neck Deep sound that we know and love. It’s very “generic pop-punk” as the band has labeled themselves in the past but in the best way.
On “Lowlife” it shows off the angry side of the band and the attitude of not caring about what anyone else thinks about your decisions, it’s also full of rhymes and overall just really, really fun. “Telling Stories” is another great example of how they managed to take a Neck Deep-esque track but elevate to an older sound and message. It really sounds like a track that they probably wished they could have made in the early days.
“Quarry” is the mid-album track that shifts to the second act of the album. Immediately after, “Sick Joke” keeps up the energy of the first half and holds some jaded feelings that have another layer to it that talks of finding someone who will find the hope in you and bring you back to a better place.
One thing that is much more present on this album than previous Neck Deep album is love — this album is quite romantic with a pop-punk take on it, of course. It’s hopeful and earnest and “What Took You So Long” is the prime example of this. It’s a sweet story of telling someone just how important they are with lines like “And I was not me / Until I discovered you for the first time”. Lines like these throughout the album will be sure to pull on the heartstrings of fans and new listeners alike.’
The album closes with “Pushing Daisies” which ties up the loose ends of the album’s two main characters. The track talks about how in the end life will be about what you managed to do with the time you had and the people around you and not all the things you missed.
All Distortions Are Intentional is a strong cohesive piece of work that shows major growth through a album-long story long relationship between Jett and Alice laid out in the very first track. This is something Neck Deep’s previous work would have been grasping at. Overall, this album will be sure to get both fans and new ears alike on board with this record.
All Distortions Are Intentional is available to stream everywhere now!
Stream the album on Apple Music.
Stream the album on Spotify.
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