Waterparks’ release blatantly dark “Just Kidding” off ‘Greatest Hits’
It’s Waterparks Wednesday, and the group have released “Just Kidding,” the seventh track on their forthcoming album, Greatest Hits. Directed by vocalist Awsten Knight and creative collaborator Jawn Rocha, “Just Kidding” feels like an intimate glimpse into Knight’s inner psyche. The video opens with Knight in a white room by himself, playing guitar in his […]
It’s Waterparks Wednesday, and the group have released “Just Kidding,” the seventh track on their forthcoming album, Greatest Hits. Directed by vocalist Awsten Knight and creative collaborator Jawn Rocha, “Just Kidding” feels like an intimate glimpse into Knight’s inner psyche.
The video opens with Knight in a white room by himself, playing guitar in his socks and jeans. The lyrics ring, “I wish I was dead sometimes so I wouldn’t have to check my phone/I wish I was dead sometimes so I could spend a day alone.” At the 25-second mark, Knight lays down his guitar and disorientedly sings directly to the camera. Seemingly exhausted by the experience, the camera loses focus, highlighting a blurry image of Knight picking up his guitar again before he resumes playing.
While the simplicity of the video may feel underrated, Rocha and Knight’s conscious decision to never fully have the vocalist’s face in focus reflects the darkness of the track. The video cuts to an all-black screen at the 2:28-minute mark before hearing a robotic, female voice say, “And repeat.” The last 20 seconds of the video are nothing but darkness and silence before it officially comes to a close.
“This album was obviously made when I was very stuck at home, but the three songs that were made before that were done right before we left for the FANDOM tour,” Knight says. “It was ‘Just Kidding,’ ‘Secret Life’ and ‘Crying Over It All.’ But the thing is, it works really fucking well, and I made sure because I’m not going to throw songs in just for the fuck of it, but it plays so well into the dream thing because ‘Just Kidding’ is probably the most blatantly dark part of the album.”
You can watch the full video for “Just Kidding” below.
While touring is still on pause due to COVID-19 restrictions and safety protocols, Waterparks will be commemorating the release of Greatest Hits with a special livestream performance as part of The Wiltern Livestream Series June 4. You can get tickets for the event here.
Last week, the band also released the full tracklist for their upcoming LP. Spanning 17 tracks, Greatest Hits will mark the group’s longest body of work to date. You can see the full tracklist below.