Wishful Thinking is the debut studio album by the Welsh pop punk band Neck Deep. Vocalist Ben Barlow met guitarist Lloyd Roberts when Roberts was working with Barlow's brother, Seb. Following the upload of a song under the artist name Neck Deep, the song gained attention. This attention resulted in the duo obtaining guitarist Matt West, drummer Dani Washington and bassist Fil Thorpe-Evans. The band released two EPs, Rain in July (2012) and A History of Bad Decisions. In March 2013 the band started recording material at Celestial Recordings in Wrexham, where they began recording guitar, bass and vocals. The group then moved to Outhouse Studio in Reading, where they recorded drums. Material was produced by Seb Barlow and the band. In mid-August, the group had signed to Hopeless, and by late August, they announced the album had been finished.
"Crushing Grief (No Remedy)" was released as a single in October 2013. Following this the band toured the UK and Australia. "Growing Pains" was released as a single in December. In early January 2014 Wishful Thinking was made available for streaming, and the group went on a headlining tour of the UK. The album, released a week after the stream, was so successful that the band moved from a "fun, part-time [entity]", as Barlow called it, to a full-time endeavor. As such, Thorpe-Evans, West and Roberts quit their jobs, Washington turned down a place at the Academy of Contemporary Music, and Barlow dropped out of university. "Losing Teeth" was released as a single in July.
Background
Vocalist Ben Barlow met guitarist Lloyd Roberts when Barlow's older brother, Seb, was recording the Wrexham hardcore band Spires that Roberts played in. At the time Barlow wrote pop punk songs for fun. The duo posted the song "What Did You Expect?" online under the name Neck Deep. According to Roberts Barlow "literally said, 'What about Neck Deep [as the band name]?' and that was that." "What Did You Expect?" soon gained attention online. This resulted in the duo adding guitarist Matt West, who also played in Spires, and drummer Dani Washington, who was aware of Wrexham's local music scene. Bassist Fil Thorpe-Evans joined shortly after leaving Lincoln post-hardcore band Climates. The band recorded more songs with Seb Barlow in the attic of Ben's home. The band released an EP, Rain in July, in September 2012, which gained the band even more attention from people. According to Barlow, "People took notice and demanded that we play shows."
The band supported With the Punches and Me Vs Hero in the UK in December. The 3 December date of tour was the band's live debut. At their second show the band signed with a manager. The band toured the UK supporting Hacktivist in February 2013. Also in February the band released the A History of Bad Decisions EP as a "pay what you want" download. The band and their tour manager went on a holiday to Florida. The group ended up playing two shows that were "crazy and sold out and packed", according to Thorpe-Evans. Videos of the shows ended up online, which were seen by independent label Hopeless Records. Hopeless got in contact with the band's manager who put the label in contact with the band. The band signed to Hopeless in August 2013. Being signed to the label was "a dream come true" for the band.
Composition and recording
All of the songs that would feature on Wishful Thinking were written during the summer with almost all of them credited to Neck Deep. "Crushing Grief (No Remedy)" was credited to the band and Seb Barlow. Ben Barlow considered "inspiration" the hardest part of making the album due to him being "super happy". Whereas for the band's EP releases Barlow "had some shit going on that I needed to get off my chest". The band "worked incredibly hard" to make an album that reaches high standards set by other artists' albums that Hopeless have released. Rock Sound contributor Rob Sayce noted that the album was influenced by All Time Low's Nothing Personal (2009). Sayce wrote that the band "gave British pop-punk a shot in the arm, drawing on the production sheen of 'Nothing Personal.'" "Losing Teeth" is about how Barlow and his friends were pursuing careers that would take them away from their hometown. Barlow said it wasn't "about the end of our youth, as such, but definitely the end of us being kids, and reflecting on that." "Growing Pains" was the band's first attempt at "diversity we have tried to implement", according to Thorpe-Evans. Thorpe-Evans mentioned that the group felt the song "has a flair of originality and uniqueness" when compared to the previous output. "Candour" was inspired by Barlow's dad, who was "ill for a while."