School Food Punishment – Close,Down,Back to
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Song: Close,Down,Back to
From album: School Food is Good Food
[Buy CD][Website]
School Food Punishment, besides being a name that conjures amusing memories, is a Japanese group that makes some pretty catchy pop. Most of the songs from their first full album School Food is Good Food, which was released earlier this year, fit pretty well into my conceptions of the genre. You have your clean female vocals, with a timbre perhaps a little dramatic, over harmless upbeat/dancy, or sentimental backing music framed in a tried and true song structure. Though they may have some rock in their blood, it’s definitely not out in front.
Then somehow this song sneaks into the album, (in the very beginning of it I might add) and alienates all the other songs by bringing with it a soundtrack like a floating electro barge of doom which carries off its amazonian vocal rider in a storm of arcing electricity. It’s urgent and driving, and unexpected.
Maybe it’s the exertion of the first song that tires out the rest of the album for me, but fans of the major pop acts should still find a lot to like in this quirky newcomer. They also have a new album coming out… tomorrow, so we won’t have to wait long to see what direction they are heading.