Label: Tooth and Nail Records
Release Date: June 24, 2003
Website: www.watashi-wa.com
Watashi Wa
- The Love of Life
Jeff Edwards
Watashi Wa is not what one might expect from a Tooth & Nail band,
although the label is diversifying over time. The opening bars of "All
of Me" set the very happy, upbeat tone that rarely falters throughout
the recording. Somewhere in the vast gulf of what is commonly thrown
into the power-pop region is where you find Watashi Wa. They are
somewhere south of emo but due north of the guitar-based pop of the '80s
(i.e., The Outfield). Nearby neighbors might be folks like Fountains of
Wayne. A few miles nearer the city, in a less-desirable part of town,
live bands such as Sum-41, Blink 182, Good Charlotte and Unwritten Law,
plus lots of other bands relying more on three chords turned up really
loud than good songwriting. Watashi Wa can, in fact, write good songs musically. Some of the
hooks are so strong and memorable that you swear you must have heard
this stuff on the radio during the last 20 years. Probably not, but the
sound is just that good, clean and catchy. Songs like "At Its Finest,"
"Smoke Signals," "Joanna" and "Her Dress" are on par – and perhaps
better – than any guitar pop floating about in the market today. The inevitable question, though, with any Christian pop band – are
the lyrics going to drive me crazy? That is, is it so laden with
Christianese phrases as to be embarrassing? The good news is no, it is
not. There is, in fact, very little that is blatant at all, but veiled
in poetic lyrics instead. The bad news is that, although they avoid
Christianese, they do not avoid the cheese-pit of romance. They
threaten to tumble headlong into that trap on several songs, most
notably in the cheesily-titled "With Love From Me To You." Observe the
following: Girl, tell me what's your dream, and I'll be there, A nice sentiment, yes, but it also requires a toothbrush to wash
away some of the sweetness. Based on the upbeat music, it would hardly
make sense to include darker or brooding lyrics. Thus, we can forgive
these things. Overall, it may be an album which benefits less and less from
repeated listens. Catchy albums often have this problem, and only time
will tell. For now, however, Watashi Wa has crafted a great album of
bright, sunny guitar pop.
posted 10.11.03
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To serve your every need, yes, your every care,
All I have is his, and all I have I'll give.
La la la ti da... E-mail! paranoia@sbcglobal.net
2003 White Elephant
Productions