As a band, school food punishment has evolved tremendously from their debut mini-album "school food is good food." Over the course of a couple years, their jazz-inflected post-rock sound has seen many refinements, best seen on their two subsequent mini-albums "air feel, color swim" and "riff-rain." But it wasn't until amp-reflection that the band truly hit its peak. Featuring the remarkable singles "futuristic imagination" and "butterfly swimmer," amp-reflection is a wonderful collection of perfectly constructed rock songs that have just enough of a pop angling to be accessible. The aforementioned tracks are clear standouts, but other tracks such as "04:59" and "goodblue" also serve as highlights. In fact, these two tracks, as well as "futuristic imagination" showcase the band's two biggest strengths: Yumi Uchimura's vocals and the keyboard work of Masayuki Hasuo. These two points help to gloss over some of the album's dull points, namely "future nova" and "line."
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