Music is often a source of comfort for many people. It’s something they can listen to in order to feel understood and less alone, as well as something that validates their thoughts and feelings. There are hundreds of artists out there, but in my opinion, none tackle the topic of mental health like the band, Waterparks does.
Waterparks has the amazing ability to make their music relatable in ways that not many other artists can. On each track, everything is perfectly timed and well thought out. The lyrics are perfectly complimented by the vocal tone presented in each song. Whenever I’m having a bad mental health day, I listen to my Waterparks playlist, and it always leaves me feeling a bit more understood. So in honor of this playlist and this band, here are a few of my favorite tracks from it.
“Just Kidding” from Greatest Hits – This song talks blatantly and openly about depressive episodes and how consuming they are. The song includes lines like “I’m numb, but still I’m hurting,” “You can’t kill what you can’t see,” and “I wish I was dead sometimes, so I could spend the day alone and not feel like everybody hates me,” which exemplifies the often dreadful feeling that comes along with depressive episodes. Awsten Knight, Waterparks’s lead singer, uses his impressive vocal range to further showcase these feelings by singing the song in a lower tone. Everything about this song reminds me of an existential crisis, but that’s what makes it so amazing.
“War Crimes” from FANDOM – This song is my favorite off of this album. The song perfectly encompasses feelings like anger and frustration. Whenever I listen to it, I can feel those feelings within myself dissipate. The song is the perfect outlet for when I’m in a particularly bad mood in order to get out some frustration. The song has lyrics like “Behind my forehead’s an assortment of things I’d like to forget” and “I’m forgetting how to hate myself, I saved my own life,” that precisely complement the song and the emotions it brings forward.
“We Need To Talk” from Entertainment – This song is also my favorite of the album. However, the song isn’t so blatant about mental health struggles compared to the other two songs, but it is still a favorite of mine. This song has allowed me to feel validated when I feel like I’ve been screwed over. The bridge of the song is one of my favorite bridges that’s ever been written for a song, and again, this song was crafted perfectly. The bridge of this song has some of the best lyrics, sung perfectly by Knight, and therefore, it’s hard for me to just grab a few lyrics to highlight from this song. I guess you’ll just have to listen.