[2024.01.10] - OCHA NORMA - CHAnnel #1

[Solarblade]

Announced at their Osaka concert!


OCHA NORMA is currently on a concert tour of 47 prefectures throughout Japan to rave reviews. We are pleased to announce the release of their first album. The album will contain 23 songs, including 5 new songs, and will be released as a 2-disc set.

Limited Edition A includes a Blu-ray with all the versions of music videos from the first three singles, another version of music videos not included in the album, TV spots, and making-of footage of the album jacket photo (planned).
Limited Edition B includes a Blu-ray of the May 21st Osaka concert "OCHA NORMA CONCERT TOUR 2023 SPRING ~Growing Up!~, the first live performance by OCHA NORMA in which the audience was able to cheer.

There will be forTUNE music events for this album scheduled to be held in February 2024 in the Kanto and Kansai regions for a total of two days.

Mini-live events will be held in the Kanto, Kansai, and other areas during the week of the album's release at open-space event venues and live music clubs.

SNS events such as online autograph sessions and online storytelling events are scheduled to be held from November to December.

http://www.helloproject.com/news/16666/
http://www.helloproject.com/release/detail/EPCE-7806/


creds to Mr. A

[JPope]

Happy that they're finally getting an LP, but five new songs is a disappointment.

[Solarblade]

Well, it's weird how they written it out....like

3 singles (4 songs each)

4 unreleased songs

that's like 16 songs right there. I would assume the unreleased songs are 4 of the 5 new songs? So that would leave us with what? 1 new song and 6 more songs that are old? The way they worded that is strange to me.

[Solarblade]

http://helloproject.com/release/detail/EPCE-7806/

Covers and Tracklist is out!!!!

CD 1

1. Koi no Crouching Start
2. Omatsuri Debut da ze!
3. Date Zenya Kyousoukyoku
4. Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-san no Uta
5. Unmei CHACHACHACHA~N
6. Uchira no Jimoto wa Chikyuu jan!
7. Go Your Way
8. Suhada wa Nettaiya
9. Chotto Joucho Fuantei?...Natsu
10. Ocha no ma Maharoba Ikoinoba ~Showa to Reiwa wa mo Watchawacha~
11. Shekanaare
12. Yoridori ME DREAM

CD 2

1. Uchuu Kibou de Daisuki Sengen!
2. Lovey Dovey
3. Hello! Umareta Imi ga Kitto Aru (OCHA NORMA Ver.)
4. Mistake (OCHA NORMA Ver.)
5. cha cha SING (2024 OCHA NORMA Ver.)
6. Good Luck no Munasawagi
7. Nandakanda Everyday!
8. Easy Easy (イージーイージー) / Saito, Hiromoto, Kubota
9. 1/2 / Ishiguri, Nakayama, Nishizaki
10. Peek a Boo / Yonemura, Kitahara, Tashiro, Tsutsui
11. Ima Janakya, Kimi Janakya (今じゃなきゃ、君じゃなきゃ)

[Shoujo Q]

Those are so 2000 era covers and outfits. That limited A cover is, a choice. That’s for sure.

The tracklist is interesting. I like it.

[JPope]

Those covers are garish af, but it's high-end garish, lol. The title graphic is about the only thing that misses the mark for me, because the photos and styling are great, and they're just overall fun covers.

[JPope]

Strong Kobushi vibe on this.

[Solarblade]

PV for Good Luck no Munasawagi

[Shoujo Q]

Noticed this album came out. Doing a listen through now.

First impressions? Not bad.

I’ll leave this here and come back later with a better post.

Peek a Boo is the most Kpop song to come out of H!P, ever. It was just so, not something I expected for Ocha.

[DonJuan]

Reminds me of the 2000s. I feel like Ocha really has potential for the younger Heisei retro aesthetics.

/EDIT: Listened to their Cha Cha Sing cover. It's actually really fun.

[JPope]

I've been spending some quality time with this album the past few days, and I'm happy to report that it's awesome. Not perfect, but it exceeds my expectations based on the singles that preceded it.

Opening with two servings of Hoshibe funk-pop is never a bad idea, and the one-two punch of "Uchuu Kibo de Daisuki Sengen!" and "Lovey-Dovey" builds a strong foundation for the rest of the album. It's all very H!P -- "Uchuu Kibo..." is from the Biyo school, and "Lovey Dovey" the Anju school -- which is what we've come to expect from OCHA.

I didn't really need an OCHA version of the Hello Kitty song "Hello! Umareta Imi ga Kitto Aru," but it's a really easy way to fill out a long-player, and I understand wanting to get more bang for a track that they already paid for rather than letting lie dormant. And it's not a terrible song. Speaking of which..

I'm more open to the OCHA version of "Mistake," probably because it's such a great song, and it feels right that it should stick with this group for the long haul.

The cover of BK's "cha cha SING" is pretty good, and even though I'd prefer a new song, the updated arrangement is superior to the original, IMO. And it fits OCHA pretty perfectly, so I'm not complaining to much.

Hoshibe returns with the Kobushi-esque anthem "Good Luck no Munasawagi," which has grown on me a lot since the first radio-rips dropped. It's pretty much everything I want from upbeat idol-rock.

"Nanda Kanda Everyday!" is OCHA's first foray into light pop, and this has that slightly nostalgic vibe that H!P does so well. This would fit nicely on either Biyo album. The deceptive cadence of the chorus is so sweet.

The home-stretch of the album contains three small-group tracks, starting with "Easy Easy" which features Madoka, Ruli and Nanami. We get pop-rock with a slightly 80s feel, and it's a nice light appetizer for the main courses that follow.

Kanami, Natsume and Miku get OCHA's first ever ballad -- and first ever serious sounding track -- "1/2." It's really beautiful, slightly melancholy and the girls sound pretty good on it. I don't know who Mitsuki Tokuda is, but he "gets" H!P.

And with that, we've arrived at the first major H!P banger of 2024, "Peek a Boo." This song almost doesn't fit the rest of the album, but it hardly matters, because it's fucking killer. Shoujo called it the most Kpop song ever produced by H!P, and she ain't wrong. And I don't care, because if Kpop still made songs like this, I'd still listen to Kpop. OCHA's A-team of Kirara, Sumire, Momo and Roko murder this flirty K-swing heater's restrained verses, soaring hooks and defiant raps. The arrangement is actually less Kpop than if it went to an actual Korean GG -- real acoustic instruments carry the verses, and I'd bet money that those would not exist in a fully Kpop arrangement. Anyway, welcome to your new Winter jam. If we don't get an MV for this, people need to be fired from their jobs.

CHAnnel#1 ends with the hopeful pop of "Ima ja Nakya, Kimi ja Nakya." It's very PINK CRES and makes for an excellent closer.

All of the songs are recorded and mixed really well, the auto-tune is mostly kept on a short leash, and I absolutely love how many solo lines there are throughout. OCHA still isn't the greatest collection of singers, but I prefer letting the girls' personality shine through rather than stomping it out via jack-booted auto-tune. CHAnnel#1 isn't a perfect album, but it's damned good. It solidifies OCHA's place in H!P while expanding their horizons a bit, and it offers a bona fide instant classic. 8/10

[Zoe]

Surely whoever mastered the album made a mistake, right? Because there's no way Peek A Boo came from an H!P group.