{"id":95315,"date":"2024-01-19T11:00:22","date_gmt":"2024-01-19T11:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/?p=95315"},"modified":"2024-01-18T22:44:55","modified_gmt":"2024-01-18T22:44:55","slug":"review-neck-deep-neck-deep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/review-neck-deep-neck-deep\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Neck Deep &#8211; Neck Deep"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-95316\" src=\"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Neck-Deep-Neck-Deep-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"Neck Deep - Neck Deep\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Neck-Deep-Neck-Deep-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Neck-Deep-Neck-Deep-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Neck-Deep-Neck-Deep.jpg 425w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Sometimes there is no shame in going back to what you know, and that is what <strong>Neck Deep<\/strong> has done on this self-titled fifth full-length. 2020&#8217;s <em>&#8216;All Distortions Are Intentional&#8217;<\/em> saw the Welsh group head into adventurous new directions, while maintaining one foot in the pop-punk sphere with mixed results. With this album seeing the band going into a bubble with little outside interference, and to their musical roots, you get the impression that there is a sense of regret linked to <em>&#8216;All Distortions\u2026&#8217;<\/em>\u00a0 Nevertheless,\u00a0<em>&#8216;Neck Deep&#8217;<\/em> is an unashamedly fun and sturdy reminder of their ability to deliver out-and-out pop-punk bangers!<\/p>\n<p>From the outset, <em>&#8216;Dumbstruck, Dumbf**k&#8217;<\/em> and <em>&#8221;Sort Yourself Out\u2019<\/em> thrive with an abundance of relentless energy. The latter is delivered with a bombastic chorus, tinged with bitterness. For most of its 37 minutes, <em>&#8216;Neck Deep&#8217;<\/em> doesn&#8217;t let up. Like it or not,\u00a0<strong>Neck Deep<\/strong> thrives in this genre, and while there are moments that come off as formulaic (<em>&#8216;Go Outside!&#8217;<\/em>), they&#8217;re still delivered with a tonne of momentum.<\/p>\n<p>Lyrically, vocalist Ben Barlow covers a range of topics; broken relationships,\u00a0introspective thoughts on his parents (<em>&#8220;But now they&#8217;re fucked up just like you&#8221; <\/em>on <em>&#8216;They May Not Mean To (But They Do)&#8217;<\/em>), the need to run away (via the arrival of UFO&#8217;s (<em>&#8216;Take Me With You&#8217;<\/em>)), and mental health. Although these themes are hardly threaded together, Barlow&#8217;s delivery is done with conviction. Likewise, on the politically-charged\u00a0<em>&#8216;We Need More Bricks&#8217;<\/em>, he delivers a rallying call of <em>&#8220;We need more punks and we need more bricks&#8221;.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Neck Deep - We Need More Bricks (Official Visual)\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CHhIoUxOisM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Throughout new member Mat soars with bold drum work, driving the big hooks on <em>&#8216;This is All My Fault&#8217;\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0<em>&#8216;Heartbreak Of The Century&#8217;<\/em>. Whereas Ben&#8217;s brother, bassist Seb, along with guitarists Matt West and Sam Bowden continuously maintain the energy while delivering subtle grooves and favourable melodies.<\/p>\n<p>Having continuously proved their doubters wrong from the moment they emerged 10 years ago, it&#8217;s fitting that <strong>Neck Deep<\/strong>&#8216;s self-titled album is them at their best, even if they&#8217;ve had to creatively take a step back in the process.<\/p>\n<p>4\/5<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8216;Neck Deep&#8217;<\/em> by\u00a0<strong>Neck Deep<\/strong> is out now on\u00a0<strong>Hopeless Records<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Find\u00a0<strong>Neck Deep <\/strong>on: <a href=\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/neckdeepuk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook<\/a> | <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/neckdeepuk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">X (formerly Twitter)<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/neckdeepuk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Instagram<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/user\/neckdeep_uk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Spotify<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.neckdeepuk.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Website<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An unashamedly fun and sturdy reminder of Neck Deep&#8217;s ability to deliver out-and-out pop-punk bangers!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":95316,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[1047],"class_list":["post-95315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-album-reviews","tag-neck-deep"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - 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