Review by Dom Vigil
Simply put, WATERS’ new album, Something More! is killer. WATERS have provided fans with carefree, punchy power-pop anthems that’ll soon be the soundtrack to this summer while also diving deep into some rather personal yet relatable subjects such as trying to navigate around complicated relationships, shitty friends and attempting to figure your life out.
Kicking things off with a bang is opening track, “Hiccups.” Carried by big guitars, bright synth and captivating vocals, “Hiccups” immediately immerses you in the band’s world. Lyrically, it’s honest and human, and musically, it’s undeniably unique, with a big, sing-along worthy chorus that will win you over by the first time it hits. Following track, “Hypocritical” keeps the energy high with simple and almost childish sounding synth. The third song, “Molly Is A Babe,” is about when this album really begins to come into focus, though. With a big, guitar driven sound almost akin to Weezer, “Molly Is A Babe” is a straight up party song that will quickly become your summer anthem.
On the surface, this album is full of carefree songs to jam to in your car or at a party this summer, but as the title suggests, there’s also something more to it. Sure, songs like “Molly Is A Babe” or “Hiccups” are high energy and incredibly fun to listen to, but as the album progresses, it also becomes much more human. Following “Molly Is A Babe” is the brutally honest “You Don’t Know What You Want,” which calls you out on exactly that in lines like, “You shit talk your friends but you still hang with them/You don’t know what you want.” Compared to the first three songs, this track is rather simple, but it’s the lyrical content that really carries things forward. Following suit is the title track, which focuses on getting your shit together. Blending the honest lyricism from “You Don’t Know What You Want” with the exciting instrumentals from the first few songs on the album, “Something More” is a perfect snapshot of WATERS’ signature sound.
From there, that’s where things really start to feel well rounded and diverse. Kicking off the second half of the album is the 80’s influenced “Modern Dilemma,” which chronicles the struggles of the modern dating scene and how complicated it can be, followed by the poppy “Second Guessing,” then “Secret Weapon,” which finally shows us a softer side of the band. It’s by this point in the album that it becomes apparent that WATERS are practically capable of anything. Within ten songs, they manage to transform high energy, guitar driven party anthems into softer, more vulnerable pop tracks with ease. The album’s final song, “Stand By You” finishes things off in style, with a massive, stunning sound that will make you want to listen to it all over again.
Track after track, WATERS hit every single mark and then some on this release, doing a remarkable job of driving the message of the message of the album home. Fun, yet incredibly honest and human, Something More! is everything that you normally find yourself longing for when listening to a conventional pop album, because it’s anything but. WATERS bend boundaries and genres with ease in order to create likely one of the best releases of the year.
Rating: 5/5
Listen to “Molly Is A Babe,” or “You Don’t Know What You Want”
STAY CONNECTED WITH WATERS: https://www.facebook.com/waterswaters/