All Distortions Are Intentional
| All Distortions Are Intentional | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 24 July 2020 | |||
| Recorded | November – December 2019 | |||
| Studio | Monnow Valley Studio, Wales | |||
| Genre | Pop punk[1] | |||
| Length | 39:35 | |||
| Label | Hopeless | |||
| Producer | Matt Squire | |||
| Neck Deep chronology | ||||
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| Singles from All Distortions Are Intentional | ||||
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All Distortions Are Intentional is the fourth studio album by Welsh pop punk band Neck Deep, released on 24 July 2020 by Hopeless Records. It was produced by Matt Squire and mixed by Seb Barlow.
Billed as a concept album, its story takes place in Sonderland—an exaggerated portrayal of society inhabited by lead characters Jett and Alice, who together deal with issues of love, loss, disillusionment and despair.
Five singles were released to promote the album accompanied with music videos: "Lowlife", "When You Know", "Fall", "I Revolve (Around You)" and "Sick Joke".
Background
 |
The group spent most of the second half of 2017 and 2018 touring in support of their third album The Peace and the Panic including performances at Slam Dunk Festival in the UK and the Warped Tour in the US. Soon after, bassist Fil Thorpe-Evans departed from the band to pursue a solo career and was replaced by Joshua Halling, the band's photographer. With their new member, the band released a single in June 2019 and embarked on a summer tour with Blink-182 and Lil Wayne. Following this they took the rest of the year off from touring. On 11 February 2020 they launched their official app. They also announced that longtime behind-the-scenes contributor and touring musician Seb Barlow had replaced Joshua Halling after completion of their new album.
The premise for the album first arose when Barlow got the idea for "Lowlife" during the Blink-182 tour. He played the rough draft of the song so frequently on the bus that other members got sick of it. The nonsensical and whimsical lyrics of the song inspired the creation of characters Jett and Alice, and their storyline began to take shape.[citation needed]
"Sonderland" is a portmanteau of the words "sonder"—"the profound feeling of realizing that everyone, including strangers passed in the street, has a life as complex as one's own, which they are constantly living despite one's personal lack of awareness of it"—and "wonderland".
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| DEAD PRESS! |   [2] |
| Exclaim! | 8/10[3] |
| Kerrang! |   [4] |
| NME | [1] |
All Distortions Are Intentional has received generally positive reviews from music critics. Exclaim!'s Eva Zhu considers that it "might be the band's best work".[3]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Neck Deep and Sebastian Barlow
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Sonderland" | 3:39 |
| 2. | "Fall" | 3:34 |
| 3. | "Lowlife" | 3:09 |
| 4. | "Telling Stories" | 3:19 |
| 5. | "When You Know" | 3:09 |
| 6. | "Quarry" | 1:26 |
| 7. | "Sick Joke" | 3:47 |
| 8. | "What Took You So Long" | 3:33 |
| 9. | "Empty House" | 3:34 |
| 10. | "Little Dove" | 3:04 |
| 11. | "I Revolve (Around You)" | 3:38 |
| 12. | "Pushing Daisies" | 3:43 |
| Total length: | 39:35 | |
Personnel
Neck Deep
- Ben Barlow – lead vocals
- Sam Bowden – lead guitar, backing vocals
- Seb Barlow – bass guitar, backing vocals
- Dani Washington – drums
- Matt West – rhythm guitar
Production
- Matt Squire – producer
- Seb Barlow – mix engineer
Design
- Tom Noon – album artwork
Charts
| Chart (2020) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[5] | 46 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[6] | 4 |
| US Billboard 200[7] | 64 |
References
- ^ a b Leivers, Dannii (23 July 2020). "Neck Deep – All Distortions Are Intentional review: pop-punk high on ambition but low in originality". NME. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
- ^ Taylor, Damon. "ALBUM REVIEW: Neck Deep - All Distortions Are Intentional". DEAD PRESS!. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
- ^ a b Zhu, Eva. "Neck Deep's Lovestruck 'All Distortions Are Intentional' Is Their Catchiest Yet". Exclaim!. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
- ^ McLaughlin, David. "Album Review: Neck Deep – All Distortions Are Intentional". Kerrang!. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
- ^ "ARIA Australian Top 50 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. 3 August 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
- ^ "Neck Deep Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 4 August 2020.