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Oochya!
Studio album by Stereophonics
Released	4 March 2022 (2022-03-04)
Recorded	April–June 2021
Studio	Ramsbury Brewery & Distillery (Marlborough, Wiltshire)
Genre	Rock
Length	64:12
Label	Stylus Ignition
Producer	Kelly Jones Jim Lowe George Drakoulias
Stereophonics chronology
Kind (2019) Oochya! (2022)
Singles from Oochya!
"Hanging on Your Hinges" Released: 6 September 2021 "Do Ya Feel My Love?" Released: 10 November 2021 "Forever" Released: 25 January 2022 "Right Place Right Time" Released: 27 May 2022 "When You See It" Released: 22 June 2022

Oochya! is the twelfth studio album by Welsh rock band Stereophonics, released on 4 March 2022 on Ignition Records. It is scheduled to be supported by a 2022 arena tour.

Background

Oochya! originally began life when the band were planning a 25th anniversary compilation. Frontman Kelly Jones said, "I began rooting through hard drives to see what to put on it. As I did that, I was finding songs we'd never released. Three or four songs on Oochya! are built on those, and it led me to writing a bunch of new songs too." Jones also described the album as "90 percent" uptempo.

Release and promotion

Singles

On 6 September 2021 the band released the first single taken from the album, "Hanging on Your Hinges". The song premiered on The Chris Evans Breakfast Show on Virgin Radio UK. An official lyric video was also uploaded to YouTube. "Do Ya Feel My Love?" was released as the second single in November 2021. "Forever" was released as the third single from the album on 25 January 2022, followed by an official video a week later.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	(69/100)
Review scores
Source	Rating
The Daily Telegraph
Forge Press	3/5
The Guardian
Gigwise
laut.de
Louder Sound
musicOMH
Record Collector
The Sydney Morning Herald
Under the Radar	7/10

Oochya! received mixed to positive reviews from music critics, with a number of them praising several standout tracks but noting that the fifteen-song tracklist resulted in thematic exhaustion and cliché. Dave Simpson, writing for The Guardian, said that the band was "past their best nowadays" but the album was "a decent effort after a quarter of a century" and said that the album "offers an occasionally uneven mix of their trusty hit formula". Harrison Smith of Gigwise wrote that "Stereophonics have tended to serve up middle-of-the-road ballads in recent times and found themselves in the realms of predictability. Oochya!, whilst dishing up much of the same, is a much more robust and energised project than the previous few albums". Graeme Marsh wrote for musicOMH that the album was "better than expected" given its mix of old and new material and that the quality of its singles varied more than a typical Stereophonics album but concluded that "Oochya! is undoubtedly one of Stereophonics’ better albums in recent times even if, at 15 tracks, it's a little too long".

Commercial performance

On 11 March 2022 Oochya! became Stereophonics' eighth number-one album on the UK Albums Chart, outselling their closest competition by 2:1. Oochya! sold just over 24,000 copies in its first week, including just under 4,000 copies on vinyl. The album spent five weeks on the chart. The album is also the band's second consecutive chart-topper after 2019's Kind.

Track listing

All tracks written by Kelly Jones.

Charts

Release history

References

1. ^ Simpson, Dave (4 March 2022). "Stereophonics: Oochya! review - a decent effort to mark the band's quarter century". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
2. ^ Smith, Harrison. "Album Review: Stereophonics - Oochya!". Gigwise. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
3. "New Album! Tour! Cardiff Stadium!". Stereophonics.com. 6 September 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
4. Murray, Robin (6 September 2021). "Stereophonics Announce New Album 'Oochya!'". Clash. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
5. "Stereophonics announce new album 'Oochya!' and tour: "You can't fake those rock n' roll songs"". NME. 6 September 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
6. ^ Griffiths, George (10 November 2021). "Stereophonics release new single Do Ya Feel My Love? from forthcoming album Oochya!". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
7. "Stereophonics - Hanging On Your Hinges (Official Lyric Video)". 5 September 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021 – via YouTube.
8. Aubery, Elizabeth (25 January 2022). "Listen to Stereophonics' soaring new song, 'Forever'". NME. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
9. "Stereophonics - Forever (Official Video)". February 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2022 – via YouTube.
10. "Oochya! by Stereophonics". Metacritic. 2022. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
11. McCormick, Neil; Hobbs, Thomas (3 March 2022). "The great Britrock survivors Stereophonics are back, plus the week's best albums". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
12. Stonehouse, Charlotte (16 March 2022). "Review: Stereophonics - Oochya!". Forge Press. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
13. Heidrich, Rinko (2022). "Oochjooaa ... warum auch nicht?". laut.de. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
14. Sharp, Johnny (4 March 2022). "Stereophonics keep up the good work on Oochya!, with a few surprises". Louder Sound. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
15. ^ Marsh, Graeme (March 2022). "Stereophonics - Oochya!". musicOMH. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
16. Earls, John (April 2022). "Stereophonics: Oochya!". Record Collector. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
17. Divola, Barry (8 March 2022). "Dolly Parton delivers a gorgeous, rollicking riot of a record". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
18. Happel, Anthony Mark. "Oochya!". Under the Radar. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
19. Simpson, Dave (4 March 2022). "Stereophonics: Oochya! review - a decent effort to mark the band's quarter century". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
20. Smith, Harrison. "Album Review: Stereophonics - Oochya!". Gigwise. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
21. "Acts with the most Number 1 albums on the Official UK Chart". Official Charts. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
22. "Stereophonics score eighth Number 1 album with Oochya!". Official Charts. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
23. Jones, Alan (11 March 2022). "Charts analysis: Stereophonics score eighth No.1". Music Week. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
24. "Ultratop.be – Stereophonics – Oochya!" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
25. "Ultratop.be – Stereophonics – Oochya!" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
26. "Top Albums (Week 10, 2022)". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
27. "Offiziellecharts.de – Stereophonics – Oochya!" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
28. "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
29. "Album – Classifica settimanale WK 10 (dal 04.03.2022 al 10.03.2022)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
30. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
31. "Swisscharts.com – Stereophonics – Oochya!". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
32. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
33. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 March 2022.

• 2022 albums
• Stereophonics albums
• Albums produced by George Drakoulias