Travis Japan, “Road To A.”

It’s taken J-pop group Travis Japan more than a decade and several member changes to release its first collective bodies of work. But now that it has, with debut LP Road To A, it’s clear this septet has a lot to say.

Road To A has a whopping 19 songs, only a handful of which received prior release as a single or as part of last June’s first EP, Moving Pieces. The group, now signed to Capitol Records, turns up the bass and adds elements of hip-hop and soul music to its existing foundation of glittering pop. Group leader Chaka has described it as “an album full of charm,” and there’s certainly a lot of sparkling elements for listeners to ooh and aah at here.

As for the “A” in the title; that stands for “authenticity,” which the group tried to channel and prove to the outside world that it’s got it. The 19 songs are reliable party starters, featuring top-notch and glossy production. Many of the songs—the one-two punch of “Okie Dokie!” and “Charging” are great examples, featuring singing in both Japanese and English, with a chorus that non-native speakers can sing along to while remaining firmly in the J-pop realm.

While the prior two tracks are firmly pop jams, others like “DRIVIN’ ME CRAZY” lean into the funk and disco influences; ever since Le Sserafim released a song with Nile Rodgers earlier this year, I can’t help but notice his signature chucking-style guitar playing popping up in the music of idols half a world away. The guitar playing is effectively pulled off here alongside the funk bass lines.

The previously released “LEVEL UP” is tinged with fun arcade video game sounds along with a thumping beat. The decision was made purposefully to highlight the Japanese heritage of Travis Japan. The song was paired with a video where the members of the group (which, in addition to Chaka, include Umi, Shime, Noel, Shizu, Genta and Machu) take on video game characters. The song was produced by Nashville’s Sam Bergeson—not the most obvious choice for a J-pop group. He’s produced or mixed the likes of John Oates, Blake Shelton, Def Leppard and Bebe Winans.

Other songs blend disparate genres, not unlike the current era of K-pop acts. For example, “99 PERCENT” is at times industrial in nature; at others it shows the group’s balladry, and on the chorus, it goes hard on the rap.

“Swing My Way” comes out of nowhere (holy “Zoot Suit Riot,” Batman) about halfway through the album. It’s an honest-to-goodness swing and Big Band song, which Travis Japan pulls off with full earnestness. That’s followed by “Till The Dawn,” which also rolls back the clock, to late ’80s or early ’90s easy listening soul music, full of brass instrumentation and era-specific guitar solos. The group stays in balladeer mode with “Seasons of Gold,” which lays on the synths (think soundtrack to one of Tom Cruise’s many films of the time) but with some more modern electronic dance music accents.

A few songs later, the group switches gears again with the acoustic-guitar driven “So Sunday.” The song still has electronic percussion, but otherwise, the arrangement is a lot more organic and even the vocals have the reverb turned down to make the vocalists seem like they’re much closer to listeners.

Single “Candy Kiss” and the catchy “Turn Up The Vibe” also sound like they could have been pulled from the ’90s R&B radio; think about the potential crossovers we’d have had if the likes of Paula Abdul recorded songs with idol groups back then. Travis Japan isn’t shy about praising the music that inspired it.

Road To A concludes with a couple of bonus tracks, the most interesting of which is “My Dreamy Hollywood,” a disco number that also recalls Jamiroquai’s funk. It has a string section that swells in all the right places, the return of the brass and an uptempo beat.

Follow editor Roman Gokhman at Twitter.com/RomiTheWriter.