CD Review :: school food punishment - amp-reflection
CD Only Cover :
2 CDs + DVD Cover :
Tracklist :
1) signal
2) goodblue
3) butterfly swimmer
4) future nova -album edit-
5) Densha (Train) , Suberi Ochiru (Slip) , Headphone
6) light prayer
7) after laughter
8) 04:59
9) Kakenukeru (Tear Through)
10) futuristic imagination -album version-
11) line
12) Percentage
13) sea-through communication
amp-reflection is school food punishment's debut full length album . It was released on 14th April & its original release date was 13th Jan .
The quartet's 1st 5 major label singles are included in amp-reflection with 2 singles getting album treatments in this context . All lyrics in the album were written by the lead singer/frontwoman Uchimura Yumi .
amp-reflection debuted at #9 with 1st week sales of 11,393 , making this the band's 1st ever top 10 release .
After a 55 seconds introduction in the form of Signal , the band dives straight into the 1st album track goodblue .
goodblue is to me 1 of the album tracks that stood out for me because I just like how fast paced the song's , with numerous guitars riffs being layered over for effects's purposes .
butterfly swimmer is the quartet's 2nd single . It was used as the ending theme for the TV program Shiodome Event-bu in July 2009 .
This's the 1st ever song that I 1st heard of the group when I started listening to school food punishment's material . I like it that butterfly swimmer started out slow/subtle then it transformed & lashed out into a full blown pop/rock no. with unique touches of ambient & electronica that the band added in which I really like .
future nova is the 1st A-side of the group's 5th single future nova / after laughter . future nova / after laughter is also their 1st double A-side single & best performed single on Oricon to date , peaking at #18 .
The 1st A-side was used as the opening no. for the movie Higashi no Eden Gekijouban II Paradise Lost & in here , it has been renamed as future nova -album edit- .
Frankly there's not much significant difference/changes as compared to the single & album versions of future nova . The only difference's that the album edit for the song , it's slightly longer .
But still , it's a good song & it has plenty of kicks & a lot of great guitar riffs & layerings too .
Densha (Train) , Suberi Ochiru (Slip) , Headphone is the 2nd album track & this's quite a lushed chilled out song .
Compared to other songs on amp-reflection , Densha , Suberi Ochiru , Headphone is 1 of the few tracks that's quite simplified in terms of the music structure . It's not as complicated & choppy sounding & it's pretty understated in its own unique right .
The next 2 songs are singles that the quartet has already released prior to amp-reflection .
light prayer is their 4th single & it was used as the theme song to the theatrical anime Higashi no Eden Gekijouban I The King of Eden .
I still find this song cool to my liking . It sounds very futuristic sounding despite the song title & as always , what striked me about the song's the music .
There're numerous layerings of different styles & synths being thrown into the mix which's really neat .
after laughter is the 2nd A-side of their 5th single future nova / after laughter .
While the 1st A-side was used as the opening track for the movie Higashi no Eden Gekijouban II Paradise Lost , for after laughter's case , it was the closing no. for the movie .
I still remembered when future nova / after laughter was released , I lamented that I wished both songs would have sounded a bit different in that 1 should have been a ballad to contrast things .
I'm fine with after laughter now & it seems quite logical to slot in here after light prayer as the sound consistency's there .
04:59 is the 3rd album track & I guess you can considered this as a ballad as it's mainly piano driven before it's being transformed to a synth driven no. .
Oddly/funnily enough , despite the song title 04:59 , it's not 4:59 mins but rather it's 5:27 mins long but in anycase , it's nice to tone things out after 2 fierce enpowering tracks .
Kakenukeru (Tear Through) is track #9 & this's yet another cool album song . You can hear slight shades of Orchestra beats going on in here aside from the band's signature sounds which adds a nice edge to this fast paced no. .
futuristic imagination is school food punishment's debut single & it was used as the ending theme for the anime Higashi no Eden .
In here , futuristic imagination has been given the -album version- treatment .
The difference between the single & album versions for futuristic imagination is that the album version begins with a gorgeous 20 seconds or so Orchestra like sounding backing before the original song stepped in to fill in things .
Still , futuristic imagination is a really solid song for a debut single & this established the band's presence in the music industry , debuting the unique music sounds that the band has it going on in them .
line is the 2nd last album track & this's 1 of the more aggressive & meaner sounding songs in amp-reflection .
Immediately when the song begins , it gives you an extremely edgy introduction that's full of bite & kicks & I just like the song for being extremely fast paced without going over the top .
Percentage is the final album track . It can be considered as a ballad or 2 just like 04:59 .
I frankly don't find Percentage anything special/memorable . It's probably should be slotted as a B-side material no. as it doesn't have any edge/bite as compared to the other album tracks I can cherry pick/listen to .
sea-through communication is the group's 3rd single & it's the final track in the album's tracklist .
I remembered when sea-through communication was 1st released , it sounded a bit different as compared to futurisitic imagination & let alone butterfly swimmer .
For once , sea-through communication sounded a lot more mainstream friendly & the usage of synth beats is a lot more heavily emphasised in this context too .
school food punishment established their unique music presence with this pretty slamming solid debut album offering amp-reflection .
I must admit that their music's probably not everyone's cup of tea to appericate/enjoy . For once , their music roots lies in post pop rock/electronica & ambient fusion . As a result , they're not mainstream to begin with since they have humble indie roots instilled in them .
Also , I was frankly disappointed initally on 1st listen with regards to the album tracks found in amp-reflection in that nothing stood out to me at 1st & the album tracks seems a lot more mellower as compared to their singles counterparts which most of the band's singles releases are quite upbeat in sounding .
But as time goes by , the album tracks began to paint an unique picture of their own & I suppose the reason as to why the album tracks are quite toned down / subtle is probably to balance & contrast things .
Regardless of which , amp-reflection's really worth a great listen from the start to the end & if you're looking for something that's not mainstream & unique in sounding , then school food punishment might be the band for you to check out .
