Watashi Wa
The Love of Life
Tooth & Nail
Watashi Wa are about as sickeningly sweet as pop rock can be, combining the “safe” rock antics of Goo Goo Dolls and Superdrag, with the occasional punk reference points of softer Foo Fighters or Green Day. The Love of Life is, however, masterfully written, performed and recorded, making me guess that this record will be a huge hit in Christian circles, and could possibly garner Watashi Wa some mainstream radio airplay.
Watashi Wa don’t really bring anything new to the table in these twelve songs, as it’s pretty much an album of love songs, with subtle references to God. The guitars ring and jangle more than they are distorted, playing simple three and four chord progressions, as the drums (quite buried in the mix) keep the time going in adequate fashion. The stars of Watashi Wa are the vocalists. Their voices are tailor made for the big time: warm, perfectly on key and somewhat Beach Boys-esque. The sparkly guitars, warm vocals and feel good lyrics evoke a positive feeling that is almost impossible to avoid while listening to this one.
Will The Love of Life put these guys on the mainstream radio airwaves? It’s really hard to tell, but the hooks on this album are so incredibly catchy and syrupy that I found myself playing this CD several times just for fun, and I don’t really like pop music. If Watashi Wa can make me a believer, I’d be willing to bet that fans of melodic pop rock, a la Weezer, Get Up Kids and Superdrag, will enjoy The Love of Life quite a bit.
Tooth & Nail Records: http://www.toothandnail.com/
