Special: Ranking Neck Deep's "Life's Not Out To Get You"

We are about a month away from the release of Neck Deep's fourth full length album "All Distortions Are Intentional" so in honour of that I figured now would be a great time to look back at their best album: Life's Not Out To Get You. This was also the album I discovered Neck Deep as I checked out the single Can't Kick Up The Roots as soon as it popped up and I fell in love. On with the ranking!

12. Serpents

Back when I did the Waterparks "Entertainment" ranking I mentioned that Crybaby is the only skippable song, and although I don't "need" to skip Serpents like I do Crybaby it is far and away the worst song on the album. Maybe it's the darker tones on an otherwise summery album? Maybe it's the lack of a hook? Whatever it is, Serpents deserves the bottom of the list.

11. Rock Bottom

You'd think with a title like this it'd find itself in the previous spot but alas Rock Bottom despite being at the bottom of the tracklist isn't quite at the bottom here. It closes off the album reminding listeners to that despite being in a rough spot you gotta let go of the negativity. It's also not a bad song at all as I could regularly jam it, it just speaks to the depth of this album being all the way down here.

10. December

The mandatory slow jam on LNOTGY is actually lyrically beautiful. The acoustic guitar takes center stage and sounds wonderful however what ruins this track is the fact that they recorded a faster version later on and it's much better and the band agrees since it's the version they now play live. This is probably the most popular track off of the album.

9. Threat Level Midnight

The best part of listening to this album is the fade out of track one into track two, otherwise known as Threat Level Midnight. The chunky baseline of former bassist Fil Thorpe-Evans leads us into an anthemic sing along chorus that probably deserves to be up higher but something's gotta fall to the #9 spot and I decided it should be Threat Level Midnight oh and the title was based on The Office.

8. The Beach Is For Lovers (Not Lonely Losers)

With a title like that you just know this track is gonna be good right? Prior to this album, Neck Deep's biggest song was A Part Of Me which this song is along the same vein so it's a popular deep cut for the band. Unlike the rest of the album the vocals sound less hopeful and more suffering. Also fun fact: This is track eight and it's in the eighth spot. Lolz!

7. I Hope This Comes Back To Haunt You

Speaking of popular deep cuts, the penultimate track on the album is another. I Hope This Comes Back To Haunt You starts off slow before turning into one of the loudest. The band have stated on multiple occasions that they love this song but it doesn't translate well live. Hopefully they do an anniversary tour so we can all hear it at least once.

6. Citizens Of Earth

We're kicking off the best 50% of the album with track one. If you never heard Neck Deep before and you start here you probably are going to be fooled as to what you're going to hear going forward. It's super angsty and the guitars of Matt West and Lloyd Roberts are super loud. It feels like a lead hammer hitting you in the face.

5. Smooth Seas Don't Make Good Sailors

Who doesn't love a solid dual chorus? I know I do. This is the track that leads you to know Jeremy McKinnon produced this record as it reminds you of the pop punk oriented A Day To Remember tracks. The vocals are in your face and the melody is fast paced which surprises you since this follows December on the tracklist.

4. Kali Ma

Yet another song with Jeremy McKinnon influence as he provides vocals on the outro to the song. Also this is track four at number four! Another happy coincidence. Dani Washington's drumming stands out here as it takes the lead along with the vocals for a trip that keeps the anthemic nature of the album going.

3. Lime Street

On the tracklist Lime Street closes off the first half of the album and it's probably one of the better 6 song runs on an album I can think of off the top of my head. The bouncy riffs and pop punk vocals are reminiscent of blink-182. This is simply a track that I would've listened to in my youth screaming at the top of my lungs while reading the lyrics booklet.

2. Gold Steps

This is probably the track where Ben Barlow does the most vocally. The 2nd verse he essentially raps before falling back into a snotty punk vocal style before going back to normal for the chorus. The album's title comes from this positive jam about how no matter how dire things look it'll get better so keep moving forward.

1. Can't Kick Up The Roots

As mentioned above this was the first Neck Deep song I heard and it's undeniably a bop. Maybe it's the fact that it introduced them to me that it claims first or maybe the band and label just knew what I did when I first heard it. This was the best pop punk song that had come out in 5 years and it needed to be released ASAP with a push behind it to get to as many ears as possible. The big chorus, the pop punk trope of leaving your hometown getting turned on it's head? Brilliant.