Neck Deep - 'The Peace and the Panic' (Album Review)

Neck Deep has been a band I've known about for a really long time. I interviewed the band when they were still a small UK band before their Hopeless days. I always felt like they had a little something extra that made them stick out from the pack of pop/punk bands. The band's sophomore album 'Life's Not Out To Get You' was a really fun pop/punk album. It really made me believe they were gearing up to write a string of successful, important pop/punk albums so I went into 'The Peace And The Panic' hoping for some improvements and a continuation of really good songs.

With this new album, 'The Peace And The Panic', the band has finally lived up to a lot of the hype I had for them when I first heard those initial EPs a few years ago. This album puts the pieces together better than they have before, which creates their most cohesive and diverse album to date. The songs have a bit more maturity to them and the album feels like it could become a pop/punk classic in time. "Wish You Were Here" is one of those great summer acoustic pop/punk songs. It's going to be a fan favorite. "In Bloom" is more of a melodic mid-tempo song that leans nicely on some emo backdrops. "Happy Judgment Day" has a little edge to the guitars and I really like it lyrically. It feels very timely. It's irresistibly catchy. "The Grand Delusion" has some great guitar work. The overall song reminds me of the sound you'd hear on some of those classic pop/punk albums especially an album like New Found Glory's 'Sticks And Stones. I really like "Parachute" lyrically. It has some of my favorite lyrics on the album. It's also very well written and it's a really catchy song. The strong songwriting and lyrics of the song means it ends up being one of my favorite songs from the album.

Overall 'The Peace And The Panic' has a nice mix of sounds and growth while maintaining that pop/punk vibe that I liked so much about their last album. I think this time around the band created a nice mix of somber, upbeat, wild, and smooth sounding songs. The lyrics and songwriting is a step up from the previous album. Even if there isn't a massive difference it does feel like the band has been through a little more living and it's influenced the overall final product. All those things come together to make this my favorite Neck Deep album to date. I think it's a fantastic summer pop/punk album and it might be the best pop/punk album I've heard this year, so far. It's at least neck and neck with some of my favorites. Neck Deep really delivered a solid album; it's going to be a stand out for me this year.