Album Name: Greatest Hits
Artist: Waterparks
Awsten Knight: Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar, Programming
Geoff Wigington: Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals Otto Wood: Drums, Backing Vocals
Released: May 2021
Label: 300 Entertainment
Rating: 7.5/10
Tracklist
Greatest Hits
Fuzzy
Lowkey As Hell
Numb
Violet!
Snow Globe
Just Kidding
The Secret Life of Me
American Graffiti
You'd Be Paranoid Too (If Everyone Was Out To Get You)
Fruit Roll Ups
LIKE IT
Gladiator (Interlude)
Magnetic
Crying Over It All
Ice Bath
See You In The Future
Texas trio Waterparks bring their 'Greatest Hits' album but this is not your typical compliation of previously released songs, instead this is full of a mix of high energy and chilled out songs and their really is something for every mood on here. Waterparks seem to have moved away from their pop punk boy band genre and have entered into something completely unique and their own. 'Greatest Hits' opens with the title track that introduces us to the narrative of this album. In doing this it gives the listener an explanation as to why the album is called 'Greatest Hits' yet is so different from the stereotypical greatest hits compilation. The slightly unsettling song repeats the words "Last night had the strangest dream of all" before ending on a voice announcing "These are your greatest hits". After this the story of the album gains a illusory element. The only way I could think to describe the music in this album is chaotic and unpredictable. This is not uncommon for Waterparks to be doing things out of the box but in my opinion this may be the craziest album we have had from them yet. Seemingly completely stepping away from the pop punk sound from the past three albums 'Greatest Hits' sees a combination of pop, pop inspired rap, rock, a large use of electronics, really this album is hard to pin down. From songs like 'American Graffiti' which has a rockier sound to 'Fruit Roll Ups' which is a very chilled out love song to even the likes of second single 'Snow Globe' which feels very electronic and couldn't be put any where near the pop punk category. Lyrically 'Greatest Hits' feels like the darkest look into singer Awsten Knights mind. With the likes of 'Just Kidding' having lyrics such as "I wish I was dead sometimes... I'm just kidding" or 'Lowkey As Hell' reference to hopeful 2019 song 'Watch What Happens Next', "I like cool shirts, I like cold rings, I want a big house, but I'm hiding" shows the duality and maybe change in the singers mentality over the past couple of years. 'Greatest Hits' isn't all doom and gloom though, the tracks are for the most part high energy and fun and as is typical for Waterparks it also contains some pretty sweet love songs. A stand out song for me on 'Greatest Hits' has to be 'LIKE IT'. This track is so cool and completely shines in this album. 'LIKE IT' is nothing like the songs that surround it, it feels very chaotic and loud and even at times hard to follow but in a way I think that's what I liked most about it. One of my favourite things about Waterparks is their unpredictablility and this song is so true to that. I knew the second 'LIKE IT' began that I was going to love it. Overall 'Greatest Hits' is definitely not what I expected when I first heard the name but should we expect anything to ever be expected from Waterparks. They are always doing things their own way and keeping people guessing. In this album it is interesting to see the new style they are experimenting with and too be honest I think it works for them. 'Greatest Hits' is probably not my favourite of Waterparks discography but I will still be listening to it and spending some time trying to learn and sing along with the fast lyrics that are presented on a lot of the songs.
Listen to 'Greatest Hits' HERE
