Neck Deep - Neck Deep: Review

Review by Lav:

Okay so I did not expect to be reviewing this album right now. I've been covering Neck Deep ever since their 2015 album Life's Not Out To Get You really impressed me in my tween years before I even started this blog. I reviewed their two follow-up albums since then and I wasn't particularly impressed by either. After a four-year gap in new material I can't exactly say this self-titled fifth album was high on my list of priorities. But after seeing some positive buzz for the project spread online I decided to give it a shot and ultimately had to cover it. On their self-titled record Neck Deep get right back to basics and deliver their best album since the one that first made me a fan almost 10 years ago.

Though this record is better than I expected, it's still firmly entrenched in the predictable sounds of pop-punk and that isn't always a perfect formula. For example, I'm not crazy about the album's lead single and bit hit Heartbreak Of The Century. The song has a REALLY goofy pre-chorus that leans away from the band's emotional strength and lands on something really cringey as a result. I also think the chorus is just kind of lame and the title refrain doesn't deliver anywhere near the payoff they were hoping for. 

I'm also not crazy about the hook on Sort Yourself Out. It does sport some classic pop-punk self-deprecation and vulnerability but I think it abandons the momentum of its emotional rushes at all the wrong times. The last song I'm not particularly fond of is They May Not Mean To. It's the most generic-sounding song on the record which isn't the worst thing in the world. Neck Deep still do this sound better than a lot of their contemporaries but the fact that they sound so much like all their contemporaries in the first place is the issue.  

But the other singles on Neck Deep represent an impressive collection of material. It Won't Be Like This Forever is the song that got me interested in the new era in the first place. It's the catchiest song the band has penned in years and they pay it off with some incredibly exciting moments throughout. It also just has an adorable anguish to it that really does make it feel like only her kiss can stop the loneliness. 

We Need More Bricks is a single I wasn't crazy about at first as the band's political writing isn't particularly sharp. But the more I listened the more I realized that the song is more about a righteous and empowering sentiment than being overly literal. Through that lens, it became one of my favorite songs here. Take Me With You may not be one of the most satisfying cuts here from a songwriting perspective, I think it's thematically hilarious. It features some of the funniest moments on the album and having the desire to escape earth so bad that you just jump on a UFO without a care in the world is like something Blink 182 would have written at their very best. 

There are highlights among the deep cuts too. The album starts and ends on strong notes. Dumbstruck Dumbfuck is a surprisingly charming start to the album with a shimmering eruption into its hook that is very satisfying. Moody Weirdo is a rousing closer that feels like an earned moment of achievement after wading through so much anxiety and angst throughout the album. 

This Is All My Fault is the most early Panic! I've ever heard Neck Deep sound and I think they kind of kill it. Some of the best lyrics on the album pop up here and I love the way they tackle the moments when you have to ask yourself why you are the way you are. The song is also just irresistibly catchy as well. The track Go Outside! may not be for you if you have a low tolerance for pop-punk stuff as it does have some real Hot Topic story playlist ass lyrics right out of the gate. Thankfully I saw the song through and I like where it goes with dramatic calls for saving that feel authentic. I also like some of the twinklier elements of the instrumental contrasting with a simple but memorable bridge. 

While I don't think Neck Deep is any kind of reset button for pop-punk, it does feel like a revitalization for the band themselves. Dialing in their sound to its very core and presenting one straightforward execution of that style after another resulted in a project that clicked with me in a way their previous two outings didn't. This genre is contentious and more certainly not for everyone but if you're cravi7/ng some snarling, angsty, catchy, simple pop punk music I'm not sure you're gonna get a record that plays those very familiar notes better than this one in 2024. 7/10

For more Neck Deep, check out my review of All Distortions Are Intentional