Waterparks cancel release of ‘Intellectual Property 2: Lost In The Property’

Waterparks have cancelled the release of their forthcoming album ‘Intellectual Property 2: Lost In The Property’.

• READ MORE: Waterparks’ Awsten Knight talks NME through his ‘Firsts’

Announced in May, the release was intended as a ‘sister’ album to 2023’s ‘Intellectual Property’ and was set to feature the already-released singles ‘SOULSUCKER’, ‘SNEAKING OUT OF HEAVEN’ and ‘FAI2’, a rework of their previous single ‘Fuck About It’ featuring Zeph.

A release date hadn’t been confirmed, but the newly-independent band said on Friday (August 2) that the album won’t come out at all. The announcement came with a video of a hooded man digging up a grave, in which lay frontman Awsten Knight in the costume for that era. The version of Knight in the grave had red hair and he has since dyed it a different colour to represent that it has come to an end.

Knight wrote a more detailed explanation of the record’s cancellation in the comments, attributing it to a litany of things going wrong and the ongoing toll exploring his religious trauma has taken on his mental health.

“I no longer feel good about INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 2: LOST IN THE PROPERTY and will be canceling the release,” he began. “The sheer amount of unprecedented mishaps, bureaucratic red tape, and bizarre things that have gone wrong truly has me believing the universe is working against this project and I’m tired of fighting it. It sounds dramatic but without going into every specific detail, this album feels haunted.

“On top of that, living in the “PROPERTY” world for 3 years now and constantly being in the headspace of re-approaching my issues with religion is very unhealthy and continues to take its toll on my mental wellbeing. The idea of having to follow through with a full rollout, multiple tours for it, and keep living in that place sounds daunting and I’d rather take a beat and reapproach the next Waterparks album with love rather than fear and bad energy.”

He continued: “It’s unconventional but I wanted to give one final thank you to everyone who celebrated INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 2 with us from its inception at the SNEAKING OUT OF HEAVEN tour: tomorrow we’re dropping one final track from the album titled GUILT. If you were there, you’ll know.

“All that being said, without going into detail, you’re going to really enjoy the next few months. Thank you forever, enjoy.”

This is not the first time Waterparks have scrapped an album. The planned follow-up to 2018’s ‘Entertainment’, titled ‘Friendly Reminder’, was canned before it was formally announced. Their third album, ‘FANDOM’, arrived the following year.

Waterparks last played in the UK in May as part of Slam Dunk Festival. 

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