Watashi Wa began in the late ’90s as teenagers in San Luis Obispo, California, writing earnest, high-energy songs that felt bigger than their years. Fronted by singer and songwriter Seth Roberts, the band signed to Tooth & Nail Records and released The Love of Life in 2003—a melodically precise, emotionally open power-pop album that earned widespread critical praise and become a touchstone for a generation of indie rock fans. A second Tooth & Nail album followed, widely regarded as a deeper and more ambitious statement. Roberts never stopped writing after the band's dissolution — releasing music with the bands Eager Seas, Lakes, and Bonnie Dune, and spending years as a touring member of punk institution MxPx — building a two-decade catalog that remains remarkably consistent in its warmth, craft, and melodic instincts.

Watashi Wa returned in 2022 with People Like People, proving those instincts fully intact. Now, with "I Am" — a new single signaling a return to recording — the band is making the most focused and confident statement in years.