Neck Deep – Wishful Thinking
Review by Jordyn Lockwood
After a whirlwind year in 2013, touring, signing to Hopeless Records, and announcing their first full length album, Neck Deep decided to start 2014 just as strong with releasing their album Wishful Thinking. This may be the most anticipated pop-punk album of the year and for good reason. Neck Deep is starting the year off the right way and setting the bar high for albums this year with great melodies, heavy riffs, and just all around great pop-punk.
“Loosing Teeth” starts off the album with a reminiscent tone. Neck Deep has not gone far from their signature sound of loud vocals and quick drum beats. The whole album stays true to the themes of love, relationships, and growing up. Their are a few stand out tracks on this album, one of them being the fifth song on the album “Zoltar Speaks.” “Zoltar Speaks” starts out with a heavy metal guitar riff and continues to head banging drums, quick vocals and dark lyrics by saying “The wolfs don’t lose sleep at the cries of the sheep/ they just laugh in their pack as the watch while we bleed” continuing on to sing the title of the album “Let this sink in / Wishful thinking.”
The star track of the album is also the second single released from it titled, “Growing Pains.” Although it is a sort of a cute, young love song it showcases the band as a whole and will definitely be a fan favorite just as “A Part of Me” was on Rain In July. The band also added an oldie to the new album with “What Did You Expect?” which was a track on their previous album Rain In July. The new take on this old song is a good affirmation that they will not be changing with a record label at their side. The album slows down to an end with “Candour” with backing vocals from Laura Whiteside, who also sang on “A Part of Me.” “Candour” ends the album perfectly and makes you wish it were longer.
Overall, Neck Deep really did great with Wishful Thinking and it will be fun to see what kind of success they will have following it. I would recommend Neck Deep and Wishful Thinking to anyone who is already a fan of pop-punk bands like The Wonder Years, Real Friends, and Man Overboard.
Overall Rating: 5/5
Recommended Tracks: “Candour” “Zoltar Speaks” and “Crushing Grief (No Remedy)”
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