It’s been months since pop-punk band Waterparks have released Fandom, and this review is way overdue. As the decade ends it’s about time to pay homage to what is a personal favorite of 2019.
With an album that exudes an overwhelming amount of growth and talent it’s been incredibly difficult to capture all that Fandom has to offer.
The record is an album that tells short stories, tracks such as “Easy To Hate” explores the struggles of being in a relationship and wanting to leave but not being able to do so for one reason or another. The music within the track is smooth yet powerful leaving listeners hooked.
Other songs such as “Watch What Happens Next” tells a chilling tale of the music industry and the bands fan base having complete control over their artists and being jipped of the money they’re owed. Lead vocalist, Awsten Knight belts out the words “Tell me what I get/tell me what I earn/tell me all the things you want and I will give up me for you,” painting a very detailed picture of what life is the music industry is like. We’ve done an in-depth look into this song, be sure to check it out here.
“High Definition” is a smooth, unique and addicting track, the song pulls at heart strings and plays into feelings that are unavoidable.
Songs like “Telephone” have a lighter more charming feel, highlighting the emotions of the fluttering stages of a new relationship. The track submerges listeners ears into a bubbly feeling as soon as the first note hits.
“Turbulent” is an angry track, filled to brim with fury towards an unfaithful ex, it’s catchy and goes hand in hand with “Worst” another track about betrayal, originally released as a one-off acoustic track written by Knight alone. We can only imagine both songs were meant for the original title of this album- Friendly Reminder; an album that was scrapped because “No person who’s down to hurt you is worth an entire album,” according to Knight.
“War Crimes” is a strong track about not hating yourself and saving your own life, a different tune than what was sung in Waterparks’ last record Entertainment where it was stated that someone else can save your life in “Not Warriors.” The track is empowering and energetic making it an instant fan favorite.
Tik-Tok famous track “I Miss Having Sex But At Least I Don’t Want To Die Anymore” takes shots at fans and others forgetting that band members are still human and are not here to please you just because they’re famous.
The album closes out with “I Felt Younger When We Met” is theatrical and relatable, with lyrics such as “It makes me sick you know my skin/my sins are all built in.” The track is intense and bold and it’s outro loops back around to the song’s beginning track “Cherry Red” adding a bit of flare to the record.
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