CALL ME BEEP ME vs. TALKING TO MYSELF, A Review

After a long two months of radio silence, Waterparks has finally released new music, and it's unlike anything they've ever done before. The Houston pop-rock trio composed of frontman and guitarist Awsten Knight, guitarist Geoff Wigington, and drummer Otto Wood have released two demos, CALL ME BEEP ME and TALKING TO MYSELF despite being in an interesting spot as a band. Stream the demos here.

In early September, Waterparks left their long-time management company, MDDN. Without management from MDDN and without a record label (which they had been without since the release of SNEAKING OUT OF HEAVEN in October 2023). They returned from their hiatus that began after their performance at Lollapalooza in August. CALL ME BEEP ME and TALKING TO MYSELF have been their first release as a fully independent band. The demos were released in a collection called 2 (A COLLECTION OF UNRELEASED HOME DEMOS, THIS IS NOT J, OR EVEN AN ALBUM, SHUT UP AND ENJOY) which was a callback to another collection of demos released on Soundcloud in 2020.

Knight released a statement shortly before the release, sharing some of his thoughts about the release of the demos, and what led to them.

BEEN A WEIRD TIME FOR WATERPARKS. NO LABEL, NO MANAGEMENT, IT'S BEEN HEAVY FOR ME. BEEN WORKING ON A LOT OF MUSIC, FINISHING THE FRAGRANCE AND HII DEF POP UP STORE, A LOT OF ADDITIONAL PROJECTS WE CAN TALK ABOUT, SOME VERY SOON. KINDA BEEN THE ONLY WAY TO "DEAL" BUT I ALSO DONT WANNA GO GHOST ON YALL TOO LONG BC NONE OF WHAT IM MAKING MATTERS WITHOUT YOU. WHILE IT'S NOT CLOSE TO TIME FOR AN ALBUM, I WANNA GIVE U SOME DEMOS - CALL ME BEEP ME + TALKING TO MYSELF OUT FRIDAY

THANK U TO THE REAL ONES WHO STILL RIDE FOR ME + PARX + HD WHEN I NEED A MIN

CALL ME BEEP ME had been teased both on the Waterparks Instagram and a bright, acoustic rendition was played during Knight’s acoustic set at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on August 24th. The new demos are polarizing in message, sound and production, but both exhibit the essence of Waterparks through all their eras.

Let’s start with the first single, CALL ME BEEP ME. This is a song for the hopeless romantics. It starts out with the appropriate sound of a phone ringing before Knight’s vocals and bright acoustic guitar starts the song off strong with the catchy chorus. The lyrics describe the feelings of a lovesick narrator (who most can assume is Knight) who is pleading for their love to contact them and is quite literally waiting by the phone in case their love contacts them. Any hopeless romantic could probably relate to some aspect of the song in some way. The second verse features some fast paced vocals from Knight, flowing into a louder and fuller second chorus.

The production was all done by Knight. The addition of sparking synths and soft electric guitar lines bring a nostalgic feel to any fans who were around at the release times of Double Dare and Entertainment. The drums are more reminiscent of the band’s early pop-punk-esque sound rather than their more recent one. Despite its similarity to the band’s early work, the demo was actually written for their fourth studio album, Greatest Hits, but Knight mentioned how it sounded too much like Double Dare, and ended up removing it from the album. However, the title has been referenced in songs like FUNERAL GREY, and REAL SUPER DARK.

The bright instrumentals and love-centric lyrics compliment the almost “conventional” production of the song. But if you know anything about Waterparks, you’ll know that they rarely conform and nothing they do is conventional, so if you listen closely, you can hear soft ad-libs near the chorus, some distortion near the end of the second verse and in the last post-chorus, and even some interesting switches between isolated vocals and full instrumentals that leave a listener on edge until the end of the song. CALL ME BEEP ME is a song that jumps back to the early days of Waterparks, while still keeping an energy that reminds everyone that the band is always moving forward. Overall, CALL ME BEEP ME is a lovely song for a cozy fall evening in, or for when you’re just a little too infatuated with someone.

Now, for TALKING TO MYSELF, I’ll issue you a warning. I highly recommend that your first listen be on your own in a dark room (which Knight recommends when listening to new Waterparks music), since you will end up crying by the end of it. TALKING TO MYSELF is nothing short of emotional and nostalgic, and can easily bring anyone to tears after that first guitar riff. It starts off with a warm and full guitar riff that repeats throughout the whole song. However, don’t let its simplicity fool you; the combination of the repeated guitar motif becomes pleasant background noise, allowing the vocals and lyrics to shine through and trigger your tear ducts. The vocals have an echo to them, giving the feeling of standing in an empty room and singing a deep reflection to yourself.

Knight shared some context to the song on his Instagram story:

TALKING TO MYSELF WAS WRITTEN WHEN I WENT HOME TO MY PARENTS HOUSE IN HOUSTON LAST YEAR. IT'S ABOUT GOING BACK TO WHERE YOU GREW UP AND THINGS FELT "NORMAL" BUT FINDING EVERYTHING THERE HAS CHANGED TO AN UNRECOGNIZABLE POINT AND FEELING LIKE YOU'RE LOSING THAT PLACE

With that context in mind, it really reminded me of their early work with Airplane Conversations and Black Light. If you look at the first verse, the same emotions of feeling inadequate and dreaming bigger than your current reality is reflected, much like it is in songs like They All Float, Fantastic (Airplane Conversations), New Wave and I’m A Natural Blue (Black Light).

The second verse brings forth a feeling of loneliness, confusion and self loathing. The production and the lyrics worked incredibly well in the second verse, and dare I say, this might have been one of the best production choices Waterparks has ever made. If you couple the heavy reverb on the vocals, along with some beautiful vocal runs from Knight and the quietness of the guitar instrumental, you’re immersed in this feeling of feeling small and alone in a dark room you barely recognize. Nostalgia and self-loathing shines through in these lyrics, which makes TALKING TO MYSELF almost a perfect fit for an album like FANDOM or Greatest Hits. The combination of old and new lyrical influences, with more modern and simple production has TALKING TO MYSELF creating an emotional bridge between old and new, and is perfect for those days when you’re missing home or just need a good cry.

We all know Waterparks likes to do crazy things whenever they want, and the releases of CALL ME BEEP ME and TALKING TO MYSELF have been nothing short of crazy. They started out strong for their first releases as a completely independent band, and fans are excited to see what this new era of independent Waterparks will entail. One thing is for sure, so long as Knight, Wigington and Wood are working together, expect music laced with insane creativity and music that pushes the conventions of alternative music as a whole.