So I was talking to my good friend Josh the other day, amidst the chatter of other tables in a pizza parlor, about the current state of modern rock on both the local radio stations of our fair city (Atlanta) and our nationwide radio stations abroad.
I was like "Yeah man, there's some pretty good stuff starting to get mainstream recognition. Bands like Glassjaw and such who have worked for quite awhile in the underground and now they're starting to get recognition."
He nodded as he flagged the waiter down to get us more pizza sauce. "You know," he began, "Have you heard about this new band that Tooth and Nail Records recently acquired? What were they called? Watashi Wa I believe..."
My mind sprung to action "Ah yes, I believe I do. Weren't they on Bettie Rocket Records for a little while?"
Josh shook his head in confirmation as he proceeded to douse his breadsticks in his freshly made cup of pizza sauce. "Yeah," he answered inbetween mouthfuls, "They used to play a really generic brand of pop punk music. Well, it seems that now they've gone from doing that to doing really generic and subpar radio rock."
I shook my head in wonder as I took the cup and added sauce to my own plate. "Really now? Could you be a little cliche and give me a comparison or two?"
"Well," he answered, "Their label has attempted to go so far as likening them to the Goo Goo Dolls. With songs like "The Air I Breathe" and "All of Me", the comparisons aren't necessarily off the mark. The production is crisp and the musicianship is air tight, but for whatever reason, it's still exceedingly empty."
At this point, I had put my pizza down and even though I was enjoying the juicy goodness of the sausage and onions and the slightly burned mushrooms, my mind was now instead focused on this Watashi Wa that my friend was speaking of. "Is there any redeeming value at all to any of their material? Is there even any lyrical depth at all?"
Josh shrugged, "I'm sure there is, but it's lost amidst tried and true pop rock hooks that are repetitive and painfully overdone. Tracks like "With Love From Me To You" and "How She Sees" are evidence of this. On a better note though, they do pick up the pace with catchy gems like "Joanna" which boasts infectiously irresistible and catchy backup vocals during the chorus."
I smiled as I picked up my slice again, "So is it even at all worth picking up and giving a listen to?"
Josh shrugged again as he flagged the waiter down once more for our check, "It's worth the money for those who are into a lot of the sterile music that's on the radio right now, but with tracks like "Everything" and "Life Is Beautiful" which are both painfully drawn out and overindulgent, fans of serious music would do best to just avoid this record altogether."
I sighed as we laid the tip down on the table, "So there goes my theory of good bands breaking into the mainstream..."
"It's alright," Josh answered as we headed towards the front door of the parlor, "With bands like Watashi Wa, it won't be hard for bands that DO have substance in their music to break into notoriety once people get tired of hearing the same thing over and over again."
D-
Other coverage for this album
The Phantom Tollbooth 2003Reviewed by Shawn PelataWatashi Wa was a whim. Having recently been impressed with the quality of bands such as The Juliana Theory, Further Seems Forever, and Anberlin, I took a chance on Watashi Wa seeing as how they are (or in TJT's case, were) on the same label. To say the least, I was not disappointed. Watashi Wa play a brand of mature, catchy pop rock not too unlike recent Goo Goo Dolls or maybe a less whiny…Similar sounding releases
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