Greatest Hits (Waterparks album)

Greatest Hits
The cover consists of the band, photographed from a low angle behind a bright blue cloudless sky, wearing entirely orange clothing.
Studio album by
Waterparks
ReleasedMay 21, 2021
Recorded2020
StudioLos Angeles
Genre
Length47:01
Label300
Producer
Waterparks chronology
Fandom
(2019) 		Greatest Hits
(2021) 		Intellectual Property
(2023)
Singles from Greatest Hits
  1. "Lowkey as Hell"
    Released: September 25, 2020
  2. "Snow Globe"
    Released: February 26, 2021
  3. "Numb"
    Released: March 29, 2021
  4. "You'd Be Paranoid Too (If Everyone Was Out to Get You)"
    Released: April 28, 2021
  5. "Just Kidding"
    Released: May 12, 2021
  6. "Violet!"
    Released: May 18, 2021

Greatest Hits is the fourth studio album by American pop rock band Waterparks. It is the band's only album with the label 300 Entertainment[1] and was released on May 21, 2021.[2]

Release

The album's lead single, "Lowkey as Hell", was released on September 25, 2020, with the simultaneous announcement of their label transition.[3] The second single, "Snow Globe", debuted on February 26, 2021.[2] A few weeks later, the band posted a cryptic URL which allowed users to unscramble the word "NUMB," and would receive a musical snippet upon doing so.[4] The third single of the same name was released on March 29.[5] The website trend would continue, this time featuring a peephole with a forwards counter above it. The fourth single, "You'd Be Paranoid Too (If Everyone Was Out To Get You)", was released on April 28, 2021, sharing its title with an autobiography written by vocalist and rhythm guitarist Awsten Knight.[6] The fifth single, "Just Kidding", was released on May 12, 2021.[7] The sixth single, "Violet!", was released May 18, 2021.[8] A music video was released for the song on May 26, 2021.[9]

Despite heavy involvement with the production of previous releases,[10] Greatest Hits is the first Waterparks album for which Knight is explicitly credited as a producer.[11] The album's cover art was shot by British photographer Phil Knott.[12]

Composition

Greatest Hits has been mainly described as pop punk,[13][14] hyperpop,[14] pop,[15] rap,[15] pop rock,[16] alternative rock,[17] and contains elements of drum and bass,[18] industrial,[18] grunge,[18] orchestral,[18] emo rap,[19] stadium rock,[19] and lo-fi.[19]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic82/100[20]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[21]
Dead Press![22]
DIY[23]
Dork[24]
Kerrang!4/5[18]
NME[19]
Upset[14]
Wall of Sound8/10[25]

Greatest Hits received critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 82 out of 100 based on 4 reviews, indicating "critical acclaim".[20] Matt Collar of AllMusic was positive and considered to songs on Greatest Hits to be "stadium-sized singalong anthems".[21] Stevie Blackburn of Dead Press! praised the album and stated that "[the album's] seventeen tracks completely deliver...[and] with the talent that Waterparks possess they have an extremely long and bright career ahead of them."[22] Sarah Jamieson of DIY praised the band's experimentation with various genres stating that it "make[s] Greatest Hits feel like a whirlwind of genres that far exceed the "pop rock" label that's been placed on them."[23] Writing for Dork, Jamie MacMillan called the album "great" and stated that the album was "full of hits".[24] Emily Carter of Kerrang! praised the songwriting on the album stating, "Waterparks have genuinely done everything; not so much simply just opening the metaphorical artistic door to give listeners a peek at their sky-high songwriting aspirations, but truly throwing all they have into 17 songs of pure chaotic – but carefully-crafted, don’t forget that – brilliance."[18]

Ali Shutler of NME called the album a "bold step into sprawling new territory".[19] Writing for Upset, Stephen Ackroyd described the album's sound by stating, "never anything but in your face, it switches from pop-punk to full-on hyper-pop banger at will."[14] Wall of Sound praised the album and considered the album to have a "different vibe to it" than their 2019 album, Fandom.[25]

In December 2021, Kerrang! listed Greatest Hits at number 31 on its 50 best albums of 2021 list. Emily Carter described the album as "wildly experimental" and Awsten Knight's work on it as having "emphatically succeeded in being the polar opposite of dull".[26]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Awsten Knight; all music is composed by Waterparks

Greatest Hits
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Greatest Hits"Awsten Knight1:34
2."Fuzzy"
3:26
3."Lowkey as Hell"
  • Knight
  • Cervini
  • Andrew Goldstein
2:16
4."Numb"
  • Knight
  • Cervini
2:26
5."Violet!"Knight2:47
6."Snow Globe"Knight3:51
7."Just Kidding"
  • Knight
  • Cervini
2:29
8."The Secret Life of Me"
  • Knight
  • Cervini
3:25
9."American Graffiti"Knight2:48
10."You’d Be Paranoid Too (If Everyone Was Out to Get You)"
  • Knight
  • Joe Ragosta
  • Cervini
2:31
11."Fruit Roll Ups"
  • Knight
  • Cervini
3:44
12."Like It"Knight2:23
13."Gladiator (Interlude)"
  • Knight
  • Jared Poythress
  • Josh Madden
1:13
14."Magnetic"
  • Knight
  • Cervini
2:52
15."Crying Over it All"
  • Knight
  • Cervini
3:15
16."Ice Bath"Knight2:29
17."See You in in the Future"
  • Knight
  • Ragosta
  • Cervini
3:32
Total length:47:01

Notes

  • "See You in in the Future" was originally titled without the duplicate "in". It was changed in early November 2021 in response to a misspelt fan tattoo.[27]


Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.[28]

Waterparks

  • Awsten Knight – lead vocals, guitar, bass, additional programming, artwork, layout, percussion (track 3), keyboards (track 3)
  • Geoff Wigington – guitar, vocals
  • Otto Wood – drums, vocals

Additional musicians

Production

  • Awsten Knight – production
  • Zakk Cervini – production, engineering, mastering, mixing
  • Jared Poythress – additional production (tracks 5, 7, and 13)
  • Chris Gehringer – mastering
  • Jeff Fenster – A&R Direction

Charts

Chart performance for Greatest Hits
Chart (2021) Peak
position
Scottish Albums (OCC)[29] 12
UK Albums (OCC)[30] 37
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[31] 7
US Billboard 200[32] 42
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[33] 5
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[34] 6

References

  1. ^ ""300 Entertainment welcomes Waterparks"". September 25, 2020. Archived from the original on December 26, 2021. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Ackroyd, Stephen (February 25, 2021). "Waterparks have announced their new album 'Greatest Hits' is coming this May". Dork. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  3. ^ Quiles, Alyssa (September 25, 2020). "Waterparks Return With New Single, Lowkey As Hell". Kerrang!. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
  4. ^ "Numb on a Wednesday". Archived from the original on March 24, 2021.
  5. ^ "Waterparks drop new high energy song Numb". March 29, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  6. ^ Battoclette, Augusta (May 18, 2021). "Waterparks Capture Uncertainty in "You'd Be Paranoid Too"—Watch". Alternative Press. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  7. ^ Owens, Paige (May 12, 2021). "Waterparks' Release Blatantly Dark "Just Kidding" Off 'Greatest Hits'". Alternative Press. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  8. ^ Rogers, Jack (May 19, 2021). "Listen: Waterparks' Glistening New Track 'Violet!'". Rock Sound Magazine. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  9. ^ Tuck, Dylan (May 27, 2021). "News: Waterparks share video for 'Violet!'!". Dead Press. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  10. ^ ""Waterparks Live on Instagram, February 9, 2018"". YouTube. February 9, 2018. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
  11. ^ "Awsten Knight, January 20 2021, Instagram". January 20, 2021. Archived from the original on December 26, 2021. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  12. ^ "Waterparks' Awsten Knight on New Album 'Greatest Hits' - Video Call". YouTube. March 3, 2021. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  13. ^ "Waterparks Greatest Hits Interview". HMV. May 19, 2021. Archived from the original on February 20, 2022. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
  14. ^ a b c d Ackroyd, Stephen (June 6, 2021). "Waterparks – Greatest Hits". Upset Magazine. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  15. ^ a b "Waterparks Greatest Hits". Hysteria Magazine. May 21, 2021. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
  16. ^ "Album Review: Waterparks – Greatest Hits". The Sound Board. May 21, 2021. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  17. ^ Doria, Matt (May 20, 2021). "Waterparks' Awsten Knight: "I wanted to make Greatest Hits sound more grand and expensive, and just massive…"". Guitar World. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
  18. ^ a b c d e f Carter, Emily (May 20, 2021). "Album review: Waterparks – Greatest Hits". Kerrang!. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  19. ^ a b c d e f g h i Shutler, Ali (May 21, 2021). "Waterparks – 'Greatest Hits' review: the sounds of 2021 on shuffle". NME. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  20. ^ a b "Greatest Hits by Waterparks". Metacritic. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  21. ^ a b Collar, Matt. "Album Review: Waterparks - Greatest Hits". AllMusic. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  22. ^ a b Blackburn, Stevie (May 22, 2021). "Album Review: Waterparks - Greatest Hits". Dead Press!. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  23. ^ a b Jamieson, Sarah (May 18, 2021). "Waterparks - Greatest Hits". DIY. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  24. ^ a b MacMillan, Jamie (May 20, 2021). "Waterparks - Greatest Hits". Dork. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  25. ^ a b "Waterparks – Greatest Hits (Album Review)". Wall of Sound. May 21, 2021. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  26. ^ "The 50 best albums of 2021". Kerrang!. Wasted Talent. December 10, 2021. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
  27. ^ Jones, Damian (November 4, 2021). "Waterparks change song title to match fan's misspelt tattoo". NME. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  28. ^ "Credits / Greatest Hits / Waterparks". Tidal. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  29. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  30. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  31. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  32. ^ "Waterparks Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  33. ^ "Waterparks Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  34. ^ "Waterparks Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 2, 2021.