Ever since bursting out of Texas a decade ago with their debut album, ‘Double Dare,’ Waterparks have pulled and twisted their sound in various ways. From their scrappy pop-punk roots to hyper-pop exploration and 2021’s ‘Greatest Hits’ sonic experimentation, building a vibrant discography in the process. 2023’s ‘Intellectual Property’ pushed them further, signalling a bold direction and lyrically documenting religious guilt and celebrity culture. Knight scrapped a planned sequel, having lost investment in it, citing “the universe is working against this project”. Now with a new label and team behind the scenes, their sixth studio album, ‘Jinx,’ sees them resetting themselves and delivering another shapeshifting collection.
At its core, the album allows Knight to examine the notion of control, or to be exact, the lack of it, in various forms. Mortality is one of the primary issues Awsten questions. ‘Tell Me Why’ throws us headfirst into contemplating the issue. Aided by Mark Hoppus and Danny Elfman playing as God and the Devil, respectively, it’s a punchy number that sees Knight looking for more answers, most importantly, “if the only point of life is not to die, can you tell me why?” It’s a slightly pompous, even cartoonish, opening, yet it lays an existential seed that runs throughout. Later on, the hazy ‘Mirage’ captures Knight being weighed down by grief and an unwanted burden. It provides a refreshingly poignant contrast to a majority of the album’s colourful tone. His search for clarity does rear its head on ‘Any Minute Now’. Although the existential dread is still there, it ultimately leaves him waiting to work it out.
Knight also comments on fame and fandom. Whether that’s declaring hating half of his fanbase, label interference, or not knowing Timothée Chalamet on ‘If Lyrics Were Confidential,’ or chasing stardom on ‘Red Guitar’. Both mould themselves to be annoyingly catchy with a playful self-awareness. Likewise, ‘Prowler’ sees him dismiss the idea of being a “saviour”.
If you’re familiar with Waterparks and Knight’s songwriting, then you’ll know that he uses humour as a coping mechanism for his flaws. Alongside questioning mortality, he explores personal dissociation. Throwaway number ‘Tastes Like Tangerine’ captures him untethered and in freefall. While ‘Gwen Stefani’ proves to be more on point, using dark humour as a way to shield his desire to disappear. “Hey, what’s your favorite Mandela Effect? Cool! Mine is that I haven’t offed myself yet.” Furthermore, it’s clouded by a jovial, pop-heavy sound.
Love joins fame, fandom and dissociation on Awsten’s list of fixations, and he still can’t approach it without mortality creeping back in. Where the plucky R&B-esque ‘Nobody But You’ pours with lust, it’s ‘Better Than Therapy’ that shows gratitude to a partner even though he admits they “might be the death of me”.
Musically, Knight, along with Geoff Wigington (guitar), and Otto Wood (drums), scatter themselves with blatant pop, addictive pop-rock (see ‘Playing Music’), and occasionally dense flourishes (‘Tastes Like Tangerine’). As you can guess, it makes for an inconsistent record with only Knight’s self-aware narrative being the thread that pulls it all together. Nevertheless, the trio have perfected the art of crafting earworms, even if moments such as ‘No No No No No’ settle for safe territory.
‘Jinx’ may not win over new admirers, but for those who have stuck with the band over the past 10 years, there is plenty to enjoy. It’s a vivacious collection that plays on the band’s strengths and pairs with a personal, self-reflective narrative. Knight spends the record chasing a control he never quite gets, over mortality, love, fame, his own mind, yet making ‘Jinx’ entirely on his own terms, after scrapping the version everyone expected, is the one place he actually gets to hold onto it. It’s considerably this that elevates it beyond being ‘just another Waterparks record.'”
‘Jinx’ by Waterparks is released on July 24th on BMG.
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