After months of endless fan theories circulating online, Waterparks have officially announced that their long-awaited sixth album JINX will be released on July 24th via BMG. The new album marks the band’s longest overall gap in between records, standing as their first full-length release in over three years since Intellectual Property. Pre-order for JINX is available here.
Their latest single, “PROWLER,” is easily one of the genre-blurring trio’s most interesting efforts to date. The track first made its partial live debut on their North American tour this past fall, immediately becoming an anticipated favorite leading up to its eventual release. The lyrics address frontman Awsten Knight’s struggle with fame and its consequences, unfolding the brutal behind-the-scenes reality of sacrificing himself to the spotlight.
Starting with a sampled voiceover from popular celebrity gossip outlet Deuxmoi, the track sequentially explodes into a frenzied instrumental laced with distorted synths and commanding guitar riffs. Knight’s guttural delivery of “I’m a singer, not savior / better learn that now than later” during the second chorus portrays these built-up frustrations with a seething precision.
While the song’s driving force is Knight’s vengeful spirit, feelings of defeat gradually begin to take over as “PROWLER” progresses. The bridge introduces a low, distorted voice that seemingly lures him in with a deceitful assurance of fame and glory, eerily promising, “Just go out there and do what you do / We’re gonna take care of everything.” The song’s instrumental shifts into a quiet, pounding buzz as Knight surrenders to the overwhelming pressure he faces with a final exhausted whisper. Speaking on the track, he shares,
“I wrote “PROWLER” at a time I felt the most isolated last year. I really hate change and for the first time since anyone knew who Waterparks was, we separated from (almost) all of our old team and our record label. This was one of the biggest changes we could’ve experienced and on top of that, when one is as busy as I am, your friends are naturally 99% work-related. So it felt like losing almost everyone I knew, even tangential friends, while also feeling like career-wise the floor was falling out from under me. I don’t mean to sound dramatic, but sometimes it is that deep. This song is a reflection of the extremely concentrated sadness I felt over those months while trying to rebuild my world.”
This overbearing tension surrounding life in the public eye seems to be a common theme amongst each of JINX’s singles. “IF LYRICS WERE CONFIDENTIAL” similarly took aim at toxic fan and industry culture while “RED GUITAR” and “ANY MINUTE NOW” explored feelings of burn-out and future uncertainties.
For longtime fans, the tracklist of JINX is particularly exciting as previously scrapped demo “GWEN STEFANI” has made the cut this time around. The album’s opening track also features a thrilling lineup of artists, including Blink-182’s Mark Hoppus, Danny Elfman, Foxy Shazam’s Eric Nally and Dillion Francis.
JINX tracklist:
1. TELL ME WHY (Feat. Mark Hoppus, Danny Elfman, Eric Nally, and Dillon Francis)
2. RED GUITAR
3. IF LYRICS WERE CONFIDENTIAL
4. PROWLER
5. BETTER THAN THERAPY
6. NOBODY BUT YOU
7. GWEN STEFANI
8. NO NO NO NO NO
9. PLAYING MUSIC
10. MIRAGE
11. TASTES LIKE TANGERINE
12. ANY MINUTE NOW
13. GIRLS NEED GUNS
