Watashi Wa releases the first single from its forthcoming full-length album for Lost in Ohio. “I Am” is the band’s most focused statement in years.

The title is deliberate: “Watashi Wa” literally translates from Japanese as “I am.” Bright, hook-driven, and unmistakably Seth Roberts, it carries the melodic confidence of The Love of Life while drawing on the band’s formative influences of the 1990s. It is the sound of a band that knows exactly who they are. 

Roberts had this to say about it:

“I Am” is a song about God, and about the way truth calls us back to who we were made to be.

We are made in the image of God, and the best parts of our lives carry pieces of that truth. We feel it in the songs that stop us mid-thought, the books that seem to know too much about us, the places that feel like home, the memories that still have some dirt on their shoes, the beauty we almost missed, and the people who remind us what actually matters.

But we all wander. It is one of our more reliable talents. We can know what is right and still drift from it. We can know what is true and beautiful and still trade it for foolishness, usually at a terrible exchange rate. We can leave the path that brings peace and go chasing after something smaller, shinier, and much less satisfying.

But truth has a way of finding us again. It does not usually kick the door down. It waits on the porch light. It calls us home. It helps us recalibrate. It reminds us of what we knew deep down all along, before we got distracted by our own cleverness.

That is God.

Even when we veer off course or sell ourselves short, it is always possible to return. To come back to what is true. To choose beauty again. To live with peace, purpose, and a heart that feels at home.

Watashi Wa emerged from San Luis Obispo, California, in the late ’90s, fronted by singer/songwriter Seth Roberts. Signed to Tooth & Nail Records, the band released two albums in the mid-2000s — meticulously crafted power-pop that earned mainstream press attention and became a touchstone in the indie alternative scene. Roberts continued writing and recording across multiple projects (Eager Seas, Lakes, Bonnie Dune, and punk institution MxPx), reflecting the depth of his roots in this scene. It adds up to a two-decade catalog of quietly exceptional music, culminating in the 2022 reunion of Watashi Wa with their Tooth & Nail release People Like People. 

Watashi Wa is in the midst of supporting Anberlin and Emery on a 20-date national tour running May 14-June 8, followed by headline dates of their own in August.

Watashi Wa headline dates: 

Jul 18 — JCHC Fest, Ventura, CA 

 Aug 20 — Troubadour, West Hollywood, CA 

 Aug 22 — House of Blues, San Diego, CA 

Photo courtesy of Nate Young.