°C-ute – The Middle Management/ GamushaLIFE/ Tsugi no Kado wo Magare [single review]

I’m about 2 weeks late with this review. Among the groups in H!P, I’m only really interested in Morning Musume and a casual listener of the rest. However, this single undeniably increased my attention towards the most mature group in H!P at the moment. °C-ute has become the group with highest average age and its leader, Maimi Yajima has also taken over Michishige Sayumi’s role to head Hello! Project. Having been in the industry for 10 years, the group has somehow surpassed the idol image and now exudes maturity all over. They’re visually stunning and to be honest, I don’t really consider them as an idol group any longer. Secretly, I’m hoping they’d make a transition to being an ‘artist’ but of course, that would be impossible as long as they’re under H!P, which basically is an idol company. Either way, let’s get on with how this single sounds like!

The Middle Management~Josei Chuukan Kanrishoku is the main track from this triple A-side single. The lyrics were written by Tsunku but that was really the only thing he did for this single. Considering his health and battle with throat cancer, it is understandable that he needs more rest than ever and most of the work has been divided to others. The composition of the song was by Daniel Merlot and a bunch of other foreigners. Interestingly, the song still ends up with that unique Tsunku-feel right down to the beats. The song opens with a somewhat dramatic melody as if brooding for the worst and then takes you by surprise with an entirely different hook. It picks up speed immediately and you get this electronic-laden track with lots of autotune. I know what you’re thinking, autotune normally turns people down, but it’s not that bad here. Of course, ideally, I wish they don’t use it, but they’re really just during the verses. Aside from that, I really like how the usual back singers, Maimai and Nakajima get more lines here. The lyrics are typical Tsunku style. It’s insinuating on women arriving at that particular age where they’re now drowned by heavy workload in office (hence the title) and complains on the younger co-workers being incompetent with their job, thus troubling the seniors to clean up their mess. Since I’m at that age, I really couldn’t agree more to the lyrics, they’re so relatable to the point where I just keep nodding because I share the same sentiment! I like the energy in this track and like I mentioned, all of them look so good in the music video.

GamushaLIFE is a heartwarming song and rightfully so because it’s a tribute to their 10th year anniversary. The group began with 8 members in actuality, but ends up with the current 5 members. Even so, it’s nice to the other ex-members’ names making appearances in the music video. The track is composed by SHOCK EYE (Shonan no Kaze) and KOUGA. KOUGA was selected from an audition project on TV Asahi’s ‘Music Ru’ program. It’s inspirational and the lyrics are filled with gratitude and hope from the girls’ perspective regarding their 10 year journey as a group. This song is probably my favorite of the bunch because it’s different from what they’ve done in the past, which is fathomable since the people behind this song is completely new. There’s also a rap section which is basically, the best part. All in all, it’s quite a touching uptempo track.

Tsugi no Kado wo Magare was written and composed by Nakajima Takui. It’s a midtempo and leaning more towards the ‘rock’ genre. Initially, I’m not really feeling this track but it has now grown quite a lot. For others, this becomes an instant hit for them, I’m not sure why I’m slow to pick this up. The girls sing about turning at the next corner whenever they meet a dead end. It’s like stepping into a new territory now that they’re at their 10th year. A new journey is about to begin from here on. I happened to watch the recording for this song in a program and from that footage, it was evident that this track is not easy to sing. It requires lots of constant energy to pull off the chorus especially and Maimi made me lose breath just seeing her struggle. But it makes you appreciate the song more you see because they pulled it off.

Impression:
I love this single. I’d even go as far as to say that it’s one of their most solid singles. Perhaps because of the absence of Tsunku in the production of this single (except for his brilliant lyrics in Middle Management), the overall atmosphere feels different. I can only envision great things for this group from now on, it’s like they’ve reached a peak and hopefully, as the most mature group in H!P, they’ll continue to display a more adult image in their future releases. It’s funny because they’re called °C-ute and you’d expect the members to be cute and fluffy but now you get an entirely different image. It’s a good thing though in my opinion. 10 years have passed so it’s time to move on to the next chapter.

Score: 9/10

Music videos can be seen here.