High Watah’s Brighter Days Is Island Reggae with Sun-Kissed Salvation for the Heartbroken –

For anyone going through a heartbreak summer, High Watah has prescribed the ultimate Hawaiian reggae-rock antidote with their latest single, Brighter Days. Hailing from Molokaʻi, the island reggae outfit uses its geography as part of the sonic chemistry, letting ocean air, melodic pop, country warmth and RnB softness move through a release built to reassure anyone guarding a bruised heart.

Coaxing listeners away from the idea they are never going to love again and that this feeling will last forever, the consolation within Brighter Days arrives as a form of sun-soaked salvation. There is something in the way the oceanic atmosphere evokes a tropic balm for scarred souls. It is a release that makes you feel seen, licks your own wounds for you with staccato guitar rhythms and pure soul harmonies honeyed in the same summer sweetness that put Peter Andre on the map with Mysterious Girl.

That sweetness never slips into escapism. Keldin Calairo-Nakagawa, Nate Brown, Jorell “Jay.Keyz” Nacapuy, Conor Tomas and Jordan Tano deliver a patient, open-hearted reminder that past pain can loosen its hold when someone meets your fear with care instead of pressure. Produced, mixed and mastered by Grammy-winning, multi-Grammy-nominated Jason “J-Vibe” Farmer, whose credits stretch across Morgan Heritage, Collie Buddz, Rihanna, Sean Paul, Maoli and J Boog, the track gleams with radio-ready polish while holding its emotional centre intact. It is enough to feel as though you have had a heartbreak holiday without ever grabbing your passport.

After three self-produced EPs, Watah Boys Vol. 1 and more than 68 million catalogue streams, High Watah is more than ready for the horizon ahead. With some of their biggest shows to date in addition to Watah Boys Vol. 2 being in the pipeline, it won’t be long until they reach the shores of the Island reggae pantheon.

Brighter Days is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast