Listening to Waterparks’s new album, “Intellectual Property,” exploded my ears and expanded my mind.
Indie rock trio Waterparks dropped their fifth studio album on Friday, containing 11 tracks that drip with aggression and intensity.
Lead singer Awsten Knight crafted the concept based on his battles with religious guilt and hypersexual themes, according to a Thursday interview with the Zach Sang Show.
Although they’re two contrasting ideas, he manages to mesh them together well in this album.
In his interview with Sang, Knight said his relationship with religion has been confusing and changing over time, but he explores methods of coping and spirituality in this album.
Knight’s complex lyrics paired with insane production offers a punk-introspective take.
The album starts off with “ST*RFUCKER,” which references Waterpark’s 2019 album “FANDOM” that talked about fans who want to sleep with their favorite artists, but forget they’re actual people.
In the first verse of the song, listeners are introduced to Knight’s difficult journey with religion.
“Jesus Christ won’t text me back …/ It’s been a pleasure, It’s nice to meet you/ Maybe I’m a soul-sucker/ But you’re just a starfucker.”
Each song dives deeper into a spiraling mentality and uses crazy instrumentals to evoke the feeling of his messy mental state.
The fourth song, “BRAINWASHED,” is about being so obsessed with a lover, to the point where they’re stuck in your brain all the time.
Knight goes into “simp” culture in the lyrics, “I’m see-through, need you/ Why do I think you’re so cool/ Everything’s clean except for my thoughts/ Thinkin’ about me gettin’ you off/ It’s been a week, I’m still at your house.”
According to Dictionary.com, simp is “a slang insult for men who are seen as too attentive and submissive to women, especially out of a failed hope of winning some entitled sexual attention or activity from them.”
I appreciate Knight’s vulnerability and transparency about his intrusive thoughts. Although he dresses it up with soft acoustics, he admits to being overly obsessed with a person.
On the other hand, “RITUAL,” is a song that’ll stick with me forever.
Knight took me by surprise with the introduction, “What if I want to have sex before I get married?/ Well, I guess you just have to be prepared to die.”
In the first verse, “Build a bomb shelter, bite a belt for the stress/ Never knowin’ what’s next, next,” Knight portrayed the weight of religious guilt compelling young adults to anticipate the worst to come.
As someone with religious generational trauma, this verse was heavily relatable. Organized church and religion has the ability to traumatize children with regret for acting outside secular beliefs.
The lyrics that haunt me the most are, “My inner child needs a bulletproof vest and a phone that can’t text/ And twenty years rest/ Build a bomb shelter, bite a belt for the stress/ Never knowin’ what’s next, next/ Sleepin’ with my clothes on in case shit goes wrong.”
With these lyrics, it’s evident Knight wants to heal his inner child that has been affected deeply by the sins and repentance of religion.
Although there were some very intuitive and thought-provoking tracks on the album, some fell flat and I feel inclined to skip them every time.
“FUCK ABOUT IT,” featuring blackbear, doesn’t match the overall theme of the album. His uninspiring lyrics didn’t move me like the other songs did.
This song reminded me of an immature teenager who can’t establish boundaries and ends up using sex to cope instead of communicating their feelings.
While this album tackles sensitive issues, I wish there was more nuance throughout it like the album “FANDOM.”
Waterparks has a history of stepping out of their audience’s comfort zone and pushing the boundaries of their music.
I’d like to see more variety of music in their records as they’ve promised beforehand.
