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Watashi Wa

The Love of Life (2003)
Tooth & Nail Records

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Contributed by: Megan
(others by this writer | submit your own)

Published on August 26th 2003

As far as Christian rock goes, Watashi Wa is heads and tails above Creed, but nowhere near the talent of Duvall. The opening track on their Tooth & Nail debut, “The Love of Life” lays all their feelings on the line. Spirituality isn’t the only topic they tackle though. There are also the typical songs about girls in the mix as well.

Other than that, Watashi Wa is a decent band for the genre. It’s spiritual pop rock that is extremely catchy. The harmonies are smooth, and lead vocalist Seth Roberts has a sweet voice that’s easy to understand. The only issue I had was with the song “Smoke Signals” if I heard Roberts sing the word “Free” again, I was going to throw the CD out my window.

Upbeat songs such as “Joanna” really make the album. It’s a real sing-a-long with lines like “I better dance right, try not to lose it, alright try not to lose it again… and if I can’t dance, Joanna would you understand?” The catchy nature of that song reminds me of The Ataris. The album ends with a piano driven number that closes out the CD really well.

The album art for this disc really captures the nature of the music. It’s pretty, but not overly attention-grabbing. The lyric booklet is a bit difficult to read, just because the writing is so tiny.

Overall, the album is worth looking into if you like Christian pop-rock. Even as a non-religious person, I was able to enjoy this album. It wasn’t anything spectacular, but Watashi Wa presented heartfelt lyrics in a packaging that’s easy to digest. Sonically, it didn’t seem like the structure was difficult, but sometimes music is just there to be simple. It allowed the lyrics to take the front seat and drive the sound. Nice, but nowhere near essential.

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Anonymous (September 6, 2003)

great emo rock album by a great band

Anonymous (September 1, 2003)

Holy crap these comments are hilarious.

Anonymous (August 30, 2003)

there is a solution kids! i've put together a pretty good guide to learning beginner japanese and spanish on my website. granted, i didn't write anything myself, but if you're curious about the languages at all, or any of the other wonderful things on my website, i reccomend you check it out.

-el vaquero
http://elotroladodelburro.tripod.com

Anonymous (August 30, 2003)

all of the japanese that i know now to speak i learned from Anime subtitles. Shit, i'm lame.

Anonymous (August 28, 2003)

> and Wa is is/am.

slight nitpick.. wa is NOT the verb "to be", it's the subject particle. "desu" and its variations are the equivalent of "to be". since japanese verbs come at the end of their sentences, an example would be watashi wa steve desu. literally that would be i-subject steve is/am/are, but it just means "i'm steve."

Anonymous (August 27, 2003)

agreed on that one

Anonymous (August 26, 2003)

no you don't. adult men can refer to themselves as Watashi. and Wa is is/am.

either way this band sucks.

Anonymous (August 26, 2003)

dude, get out of your japanese class, i know what i'm talking about

-el vaquero

Anonymous (August 26, 2003)

"Watashi wa" isn't the feminine form of I, it's just a more polite form. A feminine version would be "Atashi wa" (easy to get confused), and a more macho way would be "Ore wa."

Anonymous (August 26, 2003)

actually watashi wa is a rather feminine way of just saying "I," hmmm... fitting

-el vaquero

thefirstfive (August 26, 2003)

i remember hearing this guys a few years ago on a bettie rocket sampler and they played really really fast poppunk. I guess tooth and nail told them they could make the mad cash if they started sounding like goo goo dolls.

NoUse (August 26, 2003)

When Watashi Wa was in Cincinnati they were complete assholes to everyone at the show... not only did they mock the local bands playing but the lead singer kept shoving kid their from behind and being a total jerk off

Imposs1ble (August 26, 2003)

I know it's shallow and quite immature, but as soon as I saw the name Creed, I instantly had a bad impression of the review and quit reading. Take a ride on the Reading, if you pass Go collect $200.

Anonymous (August 26, 2003)

means I Am in Japanese

Anonymous (August 26, 2003)

I was under the impression that this band's name was Watashi, WA. As though it were a city in the state of Washington. Is it actually just some oriental-sounding word that's pronounced as it's spelled?