‘All Distortions Are Intentional’, the biggest and boldest step yet in the creative evolution of UK rockers Neck Deep, is finally out via Hopeless Records.
Already being praised by both fans and press alike, this album brings listeners on a conceptual journey with straight bangers, track after track. Their fourth album is polished yet raw, layered but catchy as hell. It’s a shoot-for-the-stars sonic reckoning, further proving this band’s instinctual DIY ethos has paid off once again.
Shares frontman Ben Barlow,
“Everyone wants to be seen as good at what they do, as creative, interesting, ambitious. That’s what we wanted, for people to see that we are more than just some guys in a band. We truly lived and breathed this album, and wove unique perspectives, storytelling, and ideas into its fabric. We have crafted a sound that is ours, it is totally, unapologetically Neck Deep.”
The album tells the story of a loner named Jett, who lives in Sonderland, a combination of “Wonderland” and the somewhat obscure word “sonder”: the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own, with their own ambitions and worries.
Explains Barlow,
“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.”
Ahead of the album release, Neck Deep also shared five singles with fans – ‘Sick Joke’, ‘I Revolve (Around You)’, ‘Fall’, ‘When You Know’ and ‘Lowlife’ – all of which highlighted the band’s creativity through unique music videos, most of which were completed while they were locked down and isolated from one another and their creative teams.
Neck Deep leapt from side project to full time band in 2012, after a single track online led to a pair of EPs followed by a deal with Hopeless Records.
They struck a chord with a burgeoning audience, quickly heralded as leaders of a resurgence in hook-heavy punk, with an immediate accessibility and fun attitude combined with genuine concern for issues like loneliness, depression, and anxiety. The instant relatability of the band’s songs and overall approachable attitude endeared them to a new and incredibly passionate generation, with devotion to rival the biggest titans of melodic rock.
Listen to the album below:
Cover photo by: Steve Gullick