WATERPARKS DOUBLE DARE EGGS

Waterparks have been leaving clues about what's next for years now

Love them or hate them, but ignore Waterparks at your peril. Indeed Awsten Knight, Geoff Wigington and Otto Wood are so incredibly attuned to their fans’ needs. Anybody in a band already knows survival is more than just having a physical product or a single dropping every few weeks. Waterparks are all about keeping their fandom engaged. Hell, they titled an entire album after them.

Today’s video is a treat for both Waterparks stans and artists trying to negotiate (and justify) their very existence. Double Dare, the band’s 2016 full-length debut, is filled with some of the most energetic pop-punk we’ve pressed our ears against in this century. But just as important, it delivers all kinds of clues revealing everything from hidden intentions to conceptual continuity.

Read more: You have to hear Waterparks’ dreamy new remix of this ‘FANDOM’ track

We’ve pored over our history of Waterparks coverage. We listened to other people who dared to put a live mic in front of the trio. What have we learned? That these guys are always telegraphing intentions of their future plans. Most bands are too cool for school, hoping that their wait-and-see attitude is going to maintain interest with fans. Waterparks effortlessly suck you in with references, clues and covert information. Their fans consume all of it and then wonder what it might mean. That thrill lasts longer than the oh-so-heartfelt acoustic track your favorite band played on a radio station you don’t even listen to.

That brazen sneakiness is the reason we love Waterparks. We wouldn’t be surprised if Knight had the next 10 years of album titles, covers and “hair-as” (that’s “hair color eras” for the newbs) planned already. This is a rundown of some of the things they hid from us in plain sight. Other bands seeking some kind of immortality should take notes from the band (and this guy too, come to think of it). Pay attention to the Waterparks mantra all their fans know by now and without hesitation: Nothing is accidental.