NEW MUSIC MONDAY: Waterparks

(l-r: Otto Wood, Awsten Knight and Geoff Wigington)

Having formed in 2011, it's already Waterparks fifth anniversary - looking at the band, you'd never be able to tell! Awsten (vocalist, guitarist) turned 24 earlier this year, while Otto (drums) and Geoff (backing vocals, guitars) are a little bit older than him, but Awsten was the one who formed the band (along with Gage Matthieu, their bassist who has since left). 

Waterparks released their EP, 'Cluster', back in January, and they've been making waves ever since. It was their third EP (following self-released EPs 'Airplane Conversations' and 'Black Light', released 2012 and 2014 respectively) but their first after being signed to Equal Vision Records in November 2015. As Gage had already departed the band at that time, they decided to stay as a trio, leaving the position of their recording bassist to be filled by none other than Mikey Way (ex-My Chemical Romance). You can feel the influences of MCR running throughout the EP, so I can imagine that was a dream come true for the band. 

Following their signing, they've worked closely with the Madden brothers, of Good Charlotte fame. Benji and Joel Madden and their managers, and Benji actually co-produced 'Cluster'. Due to their close links with the band, they supported Good Charlotte at their comeback show at The Troubadour just a fortnight after their signing to Equal Vision was announced. 

As well as performing on every date of Warped Tour 2016 - an impressive 41 shows! - they're also coming to the UK for the first time in May, headlining the Barfly in Camden on May 31st, and performing at Slam Dunk festival on the Fresh Blood stage. This will probably be your only opportunity to catch the band in rooms of such a small size, so don't pass up the chance. 

Since discovering Waterparks, I haven't been able to stop listening to 'Crave'. It has a wonderful video, but with a style sounding like a cross between Jimmy Eat World and Sum 41, it's impossible to get it out of your head - it's a real earworm! 

I hope you enjoyed this New Music Monday! If you have a band and you'd like to be featured next week, you can contact me on Twitter or through my contact page.