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‘I’m okay, you know, the usual, kinda weird ‘‘

Rewatch repeats and set a call up with a friendĪ means towards an end, ’til we can meet again The subdued yet twinkling instrumentation smacks of something from Time ‘n’ Place and carries an ever-so-slight feeling of unease and mundanity to help paint the picture here – recycling leftovers for several meals, a child celebrating their birthday with only their parents present, a phone call with a friend to stay in touch and provide a stopgap for social gathering. It really effectively captures the malaise we (well, most of us) felt from quarantine.

#Civilization ii kero kero bonito full

“21/04/20” is our present-day foil, cataloging an April day in Sarah’s life last year during the initial pandemic lockdown in Bromley, London (note how this EP was released a full year later).

The music video is also absolutely captivating. It’s evident that the people that took the girl hostage are somewhat puritanical in nature, holding the word of (a) God above all, directing their actions by it, and likewise absolving them of potential wrongdoing and guilt – perhaps some light commentary on how overly zealous behavior, tenets, and unmitigated faith hold us back.

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Though I’ve seen some people compare the story to Japanese fairytales like The Crane Wife or the story of Princess Kaguya ( The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter), it’s confidently its own story, providing clear interpretations of breaking free from captivity, owning your freedom, and simply living your life as the captive girl wishes for her own wings after watching birds fly from her window, and flies away upon fulfillment. The tale is told around appropriately floaty synths and tittering hi-hats, accented by sampled and spliced vocals from Sarah, a small vocal cameo from producer Gus Lobban, and lovely sky-blue atmosphere brought together in only a way KKB could do. A clock in her room stays frozen at the time she arrived and doesn’t move same with, it’s implied, the girl herself as the chorus lowly sings ‘ eternally a child she would remain‘. They whisk her away behind the bulwarks and stone walls of a castle complete with a tower hold where she’s kept and served by many, though a captive she still is. A child and her boat wash ashore on a new land, the inhabitants mistaking her for a princess delivered by the heavens. “The Princess and the Clock”, the past song, takes the form of a fairytale, one of ambiguous nature and origin, yet familiar enough due to tropes and the moral of it being easy enough to suss out. There’s a lot more influencing this project that the band go into with Dazed, some I’ll touch on, some I won’t, so it’s worth a read for the supremely curious or hyper KKB fan like myself. On top of that, the band made this EP under constricting, but wildly rewarding conditions, namely only utilizing vintage technology to help develop the tracks. We’ve come a long fucking way from “ Flamingo“… or have we? While Civ II is sonically a mark more whimsical than Civ I was, the themes still ring true and loud. The first EP dealt with monolithic themes like climate change and its speedy race toward certain doom, the societal woes brought on by technology, and revolutionary action against a totalitarian class that would rather keep us all busy fighting and bickering with each other.

It’s almost unfair that I exist at the same time as something that gives me nearly unmitigated joy and happiness.Ĭivilisation II is a three-track sequel to their last three-track EP, this one with a song each styled on the past, present, and future of humankind you know, civilization.

In my review of Civilisation I, I ended on a very, very high note by proclaiming they are ‘one of the very few bands that I feel could do no wrong as long as they retain their defiantly upbeat spirit, penchant to experiment, and the will to stay true to themselves.‘ Needless to say, I’m happy to be here today reviewing Civilisation II, the latest release from the trio. Let’s just get right to it: Kero Kero Bonito are one of my favorite bands of all time, certainly one of my favorite pop acts as well, as made evident by the last two times I talked about their music.