Watashi Wa – The Love of Life

The Love of Life vinyl reissue is out August 2025 on transparent red vinyl. Pre-orders are available now!

When Watashi Wa released The Love of Life in 2003, they were still teenagers—wide-eyed, sharp-tuned, and riding a wave of earnest emotion that hadn’t yet calcified into cynicism. It was a moment where melody still mattered and optimism hadn’t gone out of style. Twenty years later, the album remains a cult favorite among fans of thoughtful pop rock, spiritually-inflected emo, and that golden moment of early 2000s Tooth & Nail creativity.

Produced by GGGarth (Rage Against the Machine, Chevelle) and recorded in Vancouver, The Love of Life is a polished yet heartfelt set of melodic rock songs with just enough bite. Critics at the time praised its "sugary pop hooks," its "tight, focused energy," and its emotional directness—a rare burst of sunshine in a genre better known for shadows. And it lands with "waves of cathartic chord progressions."

From the buoyant opener "All of Me" to the wistful optimism of "With Love From Me to You" and the shout-along catharsis of "Joanna," the album balances self-awareness with sincerity, offering singable refrains that never sacrifice depth. It’s a record that sounds like a long drive with the windows down—feel-good power pop with heart-on-sleeve lyrics, lean guitar lines, and a frontman (Seth Roberts) who never fakes a note.

Lost in Ohio is thrilled to reissue The Love of Life on vinyl for the first time, freshly remastered and pressed on transparent red vinyl. The updated package features new and restored artwork and thoughtful liner notes from Roberts himself, looking back on an album that helped define a scene—and a season of life.

The album was prepared for vinyl by Christopher Colbert (Pedro the Lion, Nathaniel Rateliff) at National Freedom and cut to lacquer by Lex van Coeverden in Amsterdam. Pre-orders are available now, with the album officially releasing in August 2025.

Watashi Wa is hitting the road this summer alongside longtime friends and labelmates Anberlin. See dates here.