Waterparks: a surprisingly good pop-punk band

Waterparks is a pop-punk band that is growing exponentially in popularity with 6.2 million views on Youtube on their most popular song, “I Miss Having S*x But At Least I Don’t Wanna Die from FANDOM.” This song also has over 38 million streams on Spotify. I discovered the band through an old friend about a year and a half to two years ago. She recommended a few songs to me and, unsurprisingly, I really enjoyed them.
“Stupid For You” and “21 Questions” are (in my opinion) their two best songs. They both come from their debut album Double Dare, which was released on Nov. 4, 2016. They released their next album, “Entertainment,” on Jan. 26, 2018. Following that, their most popular album, “FANDOM,” was released on Oct. 11, 2019. My friend first told me about the band after the release of “FANDOM.”
Waterparks just came out with what could be the start of a new album, “Numb.” “Snow Globe,” the first song on the album, debuted Feb. 26, 2021. Following that, Waterparks released the song “Numb” on March 29, 2021. On Spotify, “Lowkey As H*ll” by Waterparks (which came out on Sept. 17, 2020) is grouped in the same album as “Snow Globe” and “Numb” so I’ll be reviewing it alongside those two songs.
When I first heard about the new single “Snow Globe” coming out, I was beyond excited that Waterparks was putting out new music. Upon listening to the song the first time, I was surprised, to say the least. Awsten Knight’s (the lead singer) voice was really autotuned which threw me off guard, because I really like his natural voice in all their other music. The song definitely was pop rather than pop-punk, which I personally didn’t like very much.
One of my favorite things about this new album (and Waterparks’ music in general) is the nods to their previous albums. The line “I’ve been dead since 2016” in Snow Globe refers to their debut album, “Double Dare.” This trend only continues throughout the three songs, and I find it really interesting.
Overall, the song isn’t one of my favorites. It didn’t make it onto my playlist, but I would recommend the song to anyone who likes pop music.
“Lowkey As H*ll” is my favorite song out of the three. I was kind of iffy on it the first time I listened to it, but I soon caught myself playing it on repeat. To my satisfaction, Knight’s voice was natural. Though it fits more closely to pop rather than pop punk again, I really enjoy the chorus and it’s constantly stuck in my head.
Another reason why I really like this song is because about ⅔ of the lyrics are related to some of their past songs. The two lines “I like cool shirts, I like cold rings / I want a big house, but I’m hiding” is a direct reference to the song “Watch What Happens Next” from FANDOM. The only differing line is “but I’m hiding,” which was “I want nice things” in the original song. The chorus is also in direct reference to the song “I’ll Always Be Around from Double Dare.” Though the lyrics aren’t exactly the same, it’s definitely related to the song.
“Lowkey As H*ll” is really easy for me to vibe to and have on in the background if I’m doing homework or trying to focus on something else. It’s one of my favorite Waterparks songs at this point and, no matter what genre of music you’re into, I highly recommend you listen to it at least once.
On Waterparks’ Instagram, they definitely gave the song “Numb” the most hype. This isn’t surprising, as it came out about a month after Snow Globe. I was kind of blown away the first time I listened to it, because of how it differed from the other two songs. It’s really upbeat and definitely pop-punk.
Once again, the song features the line “Self-care, green hair, looking cute today” which gives a nod to Knight’s green hair he sported during the album “FANDOM.” This continues in the pre-chorus with the lines “Hello to the FANDOM / Please don’t have a TANTRUM,” which references the respective album and their song “TANTRUM” from the album Entertainment.
Personally, “Numb” isn’t one of my favorite Waterparks songs, but I still like it. It features Knight rapping and holds the same theme a lot of their other songs hold which I think are the two most notable parts of the song. I wouldn’t recommend Numb as the first-ever song you listen to by the band, but it’s definitely worth a listen.
As I mentioned, Waterparks holds a set theme in their music, whether the style differs or not. The theme doesn’t reach out to every song they put out (“Stupid For You” and “21 Questions” are good examples), but most of their songs are about fame and how they affect Knight and/or the rest of the band. I usually like songs that have deep meanings or lyrics I can think about, but Waterparks is an exception.
They’ve been one of my favorite bands for almost two years now, which is somewhat unusual as I grow out of a lot of songs and music groups quickly. For some reason, Waterparks stayed with me, and I’m sure anyone can find at least a few songs they like from this band.