Waterparks are most definitely back.

Earlier this summer, they shared their shredding comeback track ‘Red Guitar’ and over the weekend, the band returned to the Main Stage of Reading & Leeds for their first gigs in more than a year. “It feels so good,” grins vocalist Awsten Knight backstage shortly afterwards.

This is only just the beginning as well.

“I’m not about spoilers, but the best way to summarise where our heads have been at is basically taking some of the best artists of all time and asking, ‘Okay, what would the Waterparks version of this be?’ We’ll do that for one song, then pick someone else from a totally different world for another,” Awsten explains. ”We’ve always been very conscious of making our albums eclectic, and that has not changed. Don’t get me wrong, I would listen to a whole record of songs like ‘Red Guitar’, but we’ve got more ideas than that.”

The inspiration for ‘Red Guitar’ was Eminem’s ‘Lose Yourself’. “I really studied that track. It’s motivational and talks about overcoming struggle, but is never cheesy. It’s so fucking hard to find that balance,” Awsten continues. “That song is all about delusion, really.”

The hook for the song was written back in 2021 during a drive listening to the soundtrack for the cult 1993 sci-fi comedy Coneheads. “There were a million other crazy ideas, but my friend Joe [Ragosta] encouraged me to stick with the ‘I just brought a new red guitar’ line. Sometimes when you’re in a band, you’re a coward and you fear campiness even though the vast majority of the best songs of all time are a bit camp. You can’t go too far, though.”

The band may have been away from the stage for more than a year, but they’ve been busy behind the scenes. “Writing this album has taken us longer than any of the others,” he explains. ‘Red Guitar’ became one of the most difficult tracks Waterparks have ever written “because it’s fucking difficult to express the truth without seeming ungrateful.” Another track, ‘If Lyrics Were Confidential’, was teased onstage at Reading, but a version of it existed two years ago. “It’s the first time there’s been full rewriting and reapproaching of songs. It’s taken us way longer to make, but I think it’s better.”

There are other tracks inspired by Gwen Stefani and No Doubt. “I’m in England, so if I say Oasis, I’ll get slaughtered,” he smirks. Despite rumours, there isn’t a Hayley Williams collab, though.

Next year, Waterparks’ debut album ‘Double Dare’ turns ten. “We might do something, but there’s not going to be a tour or anything like that,” says Awsten, with the band more excited about the future. “I like looking forward.”