Review Summary: "At least can I get a little something to remember?"
I was 18 and had just graduated from high school when Neck Deep dropped
Life's Not Out To Get You in the waning days of summer 2015. To say I was the perfect age to consume that record in its full capacity would be an understatement. I connected so fiercely to it. I was no longer a child in the eyes of anyone beyond my front door, but I was still too reckless to be brought back down to earth. For me, that album represented a final farewell to the first chapter of my life, before I entered the workforce and found out that life was, in fact, out to get me. At least Neck Deep would keep me fastened vicariously to my old self through subsequent albums, right? Right?!
Starting with 2017's
The Peace and the Panic, Neck Deep began feverishly jettisoning the formula that made
Life's Not.. a pillar of modern pop punk. Their music now was increasingly marked by soft, fuzzy instrumentals, generic production, and Ben Barlow's unflatteringly boyish vocals. I tried my best to adapt. "In Bloom" became an instant scene classic with its shimmery presentation and progressive take on the genre. But then 2020's
All Distortions Are Intentional aged like hot milk in the Sahara and I stopped the ride and got off. Seeing Barlow strain and push his voice to the highest and squeakiest it can get is wildly cringe-inducing, and the instruments rarely, if ever, have the same bite and punch that colored so much of
Life's. I decided to trek along for yet another album cycle, hoping a band that had been the soundtrack to such an important time in my life wouldn't lose me forever.
One thing
Neck Deep, the band's eponymous fifth outing on Hopeless Records, has going for it, is that the instrumentals have consistently more spank and grit to them than either of its two predecessors. A track will open with some firepower, but then Barlow will reach for a note and miss badly on an oversung chorus, like on opener "Dumbstruck Dumbf*ck", which is decent enough otherwise in terms of the composition. "Sort Yourself Out", an early standout, seems to be a template of how Neck Deep could rectify these problems and get the most out of each tune; Barlow is now at his best when his vocals are more bitey, though he handles himself well as he flies off the rails in shorter bursts. On his recorded debut, new drummer Matt Powles ratchets up the fervor on this track, and aides Barlow's shouty, dynamite-like performance.
For every clunker like lead-single "Heartbreak of the Century", with its painfully sugary chorus, there's "Go Outside!" with its firm bridge led by crunchy guitars. "This Is All My Fault" is a triumph in production. I should not be vibing to a track with this much shine and gloss on it, but the band pulls it off. Barlow's voice has definitely improved to the point he can handle runs and more melodic song structures without embarrassing the f*ck out of himself. Even when he does try to let it rip, there's so much going on around him that he gets kind of lost in the shuffle. Closing cut "Moody Weirdo", replete with glassy guitars plucked right out of the mid 2000s, tacitly awkward verses, and a truncated hook, is also surprisingly effective at eliciting a more tangible emotional response out of banal-reading passages.
Not that this is saying too much, but Neck Deep's self titled jaunt might be their best album since
Life's Not Out To Get You. Of course, you have to factor in how disappointing
Peace and
Distortions were for this to be possible, but even so. This is a
good album in that it probably won't drive away longtime fans nor rein in any potential newcomers. The band employs a considerable amount of clichés and production gloss, but it's worth it for being a hell of a lot more listenable than their last album. Barlow sounds better than he has in years, and the compositions explode and kick in a way they haven't since that late-summer classic I still miss so much.
Neck Deep might not be the opus that reaffirms the band's standing in a genre now crowded with nostalgic revivalism (the older acts i.e. Yellowcard are somehow still more thrilling and innovative) but it's a sign of hope that they haven't lost the plot yet.
