''Intellectual Property'' (stylized in all caps) is the fifth studio album by American

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

band Waterparks, released on April 14, 2023, as the band's only album released on Fueled by Ramen.

Release

On January 27, 2022, the band began teasing material from their fifth studio album. On April 7, 2022, the first single, "Funeral Grey" was announced, and was then subsequently released on May 13 as their first release under Fueled by Ramen. On July 5, 2022, the band announced the second single, "Self-Sabotage" to be released on July 7. The band also released a teaser of a new song titled "Brainwashed" that the band has been performing on tour. On August 8, 2022, the band released a music video for "Self-Sabotage". On August 30, 2022, the band debuted a new song live titled "Real Super Dark" from the upcoming album. On October 14, 2022, the band released the single "Fuck About It", featuring Blackbear. On November 23, 2022, the band announced the title of their fifth studio album, ''Intellectual Property''. On December 1, 2022, the band released a music video for "Fuck About It". On January 26, 2023, the band released the album's fourth single, "Real Super Dark". The band also confirmed the release date for the album to be April 14, 2023. On March 10, 2023, the band released the album's fifth single, "Brainwashed". On October 11, 2023, the band released "Sneaking Out of Heaven" and added the song to all streaming versions of the album's standard edition.

Composition

''Intellectual Property'' has been described as

hyperpop Hyperpop (sometimes called bubblegum bass) is a loosely defined electronic music movement and microgenre that predominantly originated during the early 2010s in the United Kingdom. It is characterised by an exaggerated or maximalist take on p ...

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

, and

pop punk Pop-punk (also punk-pop, alternatively spelled without the hyphen) is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop music, pop. It is defined by its fast-paced, energetic tempos, and emphasis on classic pop s ...

, with "

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

production."

Reception

''Intellectual Property'' received positive reviews. Emily Carter of ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British music webzine and quarterly magazine that primarily covers rock, punk and heavy metal music. Since 2017, the magazine has been published by Wasted Talent Ltd (the same company that owns electronic music publication ...

'' called the album "another compelling addition to a discography that always succeeds in bringing something fresh to the table." Ashley Oken of ''New Noise Magazine'' feels that the album "perfectly melts their eras together... ndsees Waterparks take a bold step into new territory." Stephen Ackroyd of ''Upset Magazine'' called the album "A constantly shifting, hyperactive genre flip,

hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...

bounces off the walls of the tired and overdone – the best sonic representation of Awsten Knight's chaotic mischief yet." Emily Young of ''Square One Magazine'' shared that the album is "quintessential Waterparks - a detailed journey from start to finish." In December 2023, ''Rock Sound'' listed ''Intellectual Property'' at number seven in its Top 50 Albums of 2023, describing it as a "stripped-back" songwriting effort compared to "the diverse and dynamic ideas of 'Greatest Hits'" and having Awsten Knight's "poppiest melodies to date". ''Kerrang!'' listed ''Intellectual Property'' in its own 50 best albums of 2023 list at number 47, with Jake Richardson describing it as "another strong record from one of pop-punk's most creative forces."

Track listing

Notes * All tracks are stylized in

all caps In typography, text or font in all caps (short for "all capitals") contains capital letters without any lowercase letters. For example: All-caps text can be seen in legal documents, advertisements, newspaper headlines, and the titles on book co ...

Personnel

Waterparks * Awsten Knight – lead vocals, guitar, bass, production, additional programming * Geoff Wigington – guitar * Otto Wood – drums Additional musicians * Lucy Landry – additional vocals (tracks 3, 4) *

Kurtis Conner Kurtis Matthew Kenneth Conner (born May 4, 1994) is a Canadian comedian, YouTuber, and podcaster. , his YouTube channel has accumulated over 5.38 million subscribers. Internet career Early online career (2013–2017) Conner began social me ...

– additional vocals (6) * Vincente Void – additional vocals (8) * Blackbear – additional vocals (9) Production *

Zakk Cervini Zachary Joseph Cervini (born June 2, 1993) is an American record producer, vocal producer, songwriter, and mixing engineer. Cervini's work includes collaborations with Simple Plan, Limp Bizkit, Blink-182, All Time Low, Machine Gun Kelly, Yungbl ...

– production, engineering, mastering, mixing * Julian Bunetta – co-production (4, 5, 9) * Nik Trekov – mixing assistance, engineering assistance * Jared Poythress – additional programming, additional production *

Chris Gehringer Chris Gehringer (born May 27, 1962) is an American mastering engineer at Sterling Sound in New Jersey. Gehringer is known for having mastered recordings by popular artists such as AJR, Dua Lipa, Drake, Ed Sheeran, Gwen Stefani, Harry Styles, ...

– mastering

Charts

References

{{Waterparks (band) 2023 albums Waterparks (band) albums Fueled by Ramen albums Hyperpop albums