Starf*ucker opens with “imagine if an album opens with this” before kicking into Awsten’s smooth vocals and a fun, catchy track. The chorus of “it’s been a pleasure, it’s nice to meet you” is extremely repetitive but it works.
Awsten’s rapid vocals in the second verse adds an extra edge to the track. It cuts out abruptly to return to the spoken word of “picture that right before it goes dark.”
Real Super Dark is angsty and a massive change from the opener with the first verse being extremely in your face. It’s much darker and heavier and I like it. The spoken word throughout is interesting and fun.
Funeral Grey returns to standard Waterparks. That’s not a bad thing. It’s extremely catchy.
Brainwashed’s dual vocals work well and it will be great live with sections perfect for crowd participation including claps. It does end very abruptly though.
Ritual speeds things up with a return to rapid vocals and it’s more angsty than most of the album.
We switch to acoustic guitar with Closer and it’s beautifully performed and lyrically open and honest.
Closing track A Night Out on Earth is layered with synths and distorted vocals and is a fun end to the record.
The album is very much what you would expect from Waterparks. There’s very little wrong with it as each track is catchy and will definitely be stuck in your head. Awsten, Geoff and Otto have come up with a fantastic album.
I loved Waterparks’ energetic pop rock and if it’s broke, don’t fix it. But that doesn’t mean they are stale at all, as Waterparks have evolved their sound whilst staying true to what fans love.