Time 'n' Place

Time 'n' Place
Studio album by
Kero Kero Bonito
Released1 October 2018 (2018-10-01)
Recorded2017–2018[1]
Studio
  • Press Play
  • Bermondsey
  • Gus' room
  • Bromley[1]
Genre
Length32:53
LabelPolyvinyl
ProducerGus Lobban
Kero Kero Bonito chronology
TOTEP
(2018) 		Time 'n' Place
(2018) 		Civilisation I
(2019)
Singles from Time 'n' Place
  1. "Only Acting"
    Released: 12 February 2018[2]
  2. "Time Today"
    Released: 8 May 2018[3]
  3. "Make Believe"
    Released: 17 September 2018[4]
  4. "Swimming"
    Released: 25 February 2019[5]

Time 'n' Place is the second studio album by British indie pop band Kero Kero Bonito, released on 1 October 2018 through Polyvinyl Record Co in North America and self-released worldwide.[1] It is their first album released under Polyvinyl.[6] Produced by the band's multi-instrumentalist Gus Lobban, it includes the previously released singles "Only Acting" (which was also featured on their TOTEP), "Time Today", and "Make Believe".[6] Musically, the album marks a stylistic departure from the band's previous electronic musical efforts, showcasing a mix of indie rock,[7] noise,[8] shoegaze, dream pop,[9][10] experimental pop,[11] and synth-pop[12] musical styles.

Background

[edit]

The album represents a departure from the band's sound showcased in their debut album, Bonito Generation. During the tour of the album, the band played in Jakarta, Indonesia, where, in producer and drummer Gus Lobban's words, "the band experienced things we didn't even appreciate existed." After the tour, the band returned to their homes in the suburbs of London, and when the band regrouped they decided to "do whatever the fuck we want." Moreover, after Lobban heard the album Beyond the Fleeting Gales by the indie rock band Crying, he was inspired to start creating music with drums and guitars again, as he felt that album seamlessly combined Kero Kero Bonito's various influences with modern indie rock.[13] Jamie Bulled and Lobban began to play on the instruments they first learned music on (bass guitar and drums, respectively), and Sarah Perry was moved to write lyrics inspired by images recalling her childhood memories following her discovery that her childhood home in Japan had been demolished. Thematically, the album touches on the loss of loved ones, physical objects and environments and loss of innocence. The song "Visiting Hours" features lyrics written by Lobban about his frequent visits to his hospitalised father, and "If I'd Known", written by Lobban and Bulled, was inspired by their frequent indecision.[10] Lobban described the album as being inspired by the suburbs, as well as the physical rather than the virtual. Stylistically, as opposed to the rise of trap music in suburban London, the album's sound is influenced by suburban guitar bands, such as My Bloody Valentine, CSS, Lush and Sweet Trip.[14][15]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic69/100[16]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[12]
Exclaim!8/10[17]
Pitchfork6.5/10[18]
PopMatters6/10[19]

Tshepo Mokoena of Noisey lauded Time 'n' Place, writing, "Somehow, Kero Kero Bonito have managed to squash so many textures of suburbia—inertia, comfort, a content sleepiness, something you want to resist because it's boring as hell—into a new album."[20] She additionally stated that the album "feels like a rebirth" and "like an album about coming into your own as a person, without strictly being an album about adolescence."[20]

Luke Pearson of Exclaim! awarded the album a score of 8 out of 10, writing that "there is nothing on Time 'n' Place that even remotely approaches the mainline sugar-rush of tracks like 'Trampoline' or 'Picture This' [from Bonito Generation] and frankly it's hard not to miss that style,"[17] but later stating that "won over you'll be, as long as you keep an open mind, as this is still a KKB album, full of great melodies, kitschy one-off synth flourishes, and amusing lyrical tangents."[17] He concluded by calling it the band's most cohesive album, "with a real ebb and flow, as opposed to 2016's Bonito Generation, which, excellent as it was, sounded more like a collection of singles or SoundCloud posts."[17]

Track listing

[edit]

All songs written by Gus Lobban except where noted.[21]

No.TitleLength
1."Outside"1:51
2."Time Today"2:11
3."Only Acting"3:49
4."Flyway"1:58
5."Dump"3:01
6."Make Believe" (Lobban, Sarah Midori Perry)3:27
7."Dear Future Self"2:46
8."Visiting Hours"2:25
9."If I'd Known" (Jamie Bulled, Lobban)2:43
10."Sometimes"2:01
11."Swimming"3:19
12."Rest Stop"3:22
Total length:32:53

Personnel

[edit]

Credits adapted from Kero Kero Bonito's and their label's official websites.[1][22]

Kero Kero Bonito

  • Sarah Midori Perry – vocals
  • Gus Lobban – drums, keyboards, backing vocals (on "Visiting Hours"),[23] production
  • Jamie Bulled – bass, vocals (on "If I'd Known")

Additional musicians

  • James Rowland – guitar, noise
  • The Parakeets (Cecile Believe, Elaiza Santos & Oscar) – backing vocals
  • Jennifer Walton – noise (on "Outside" and "Rest Stop")
  • The Sometimes Singers (George, Yasmin, bo en, Aggie & Oscar) – extra vocals (on "Sometimes")
  • Calum "Bo-En" Bowen – string arrangement (on "Dear Future Self")
  • Cindy Foster & Greta Mutlu – violins (on "Dear Future Self")
  • Alex Plant-Smith – cello (on "Dear Future Self")

Technical

  • Jimmy Robertson – band recording
  • Andy Ramsay – engineering, additional recording
  • Anthony Lim – mixing, mastering (at Premier Mastering)

Charts

[edit]
Chart (2019) Peak
position
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[24] 1
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[25] 6
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[26] 63
US Vinyl Albums (Billboard)[27] 5

Release history

[edit]
Region Date Label Format Ref.
Various 1 October 2018 Polyvinyl Digital download
[28]
14 December 2018
[22][29]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d "Time 'n' Place". kerokerobonito.com. Archived from the original on 1 October 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  2. ^ "Only Acting – Single by Kero Kero Bonito". Apple Music. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  3. ^ "Time Today – Single by Kero Kero Bonito". Apple Music. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  4. ^ "Make Believe – Single by Kero Kero Bonito". Apple Music. 17 September 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  5. ^ "Swimming / The Open Road – Single by Kero Kero Bonito". Apple Music. 25 February 2019. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  6. ^ a b DeVille, Chris (1 October 2018). "Stream Kero Kero Bonito's New Album Time 'n' Place". Stereogum. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  7. ^ Gottsegen, Will (10 October 2018). "Kero Kero Bonito are smiling through it all". The Fader. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  8. ^ Gooding, Sarah (23 October 2018). "kero kero bonito finds solace in chaotic sounds". i-D. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  9. ^ Rettig, James (9 September 2019). "Kero Kero Bonito – "When The Fires Come" Video". Stereogum. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
  10. ^ a b Freedman, Max (4 October 2018). "Kero Kero Bonito are doing whatever they want". Flood Magazine. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  11. ^ Duran, Jose D. (6 November 2019). "Kero Kero Bonito Continues to Shape Its Experimental Pop Sound UPDATED". Miami New Times.
  12. ^ a b Phares, Heather. "Time 'n' Place – Kero Kero Bonito". AllMusic. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  13. ^ "Fake Laugh Comes to Understand...Kero Kero Bonito (26/04/2021)". 26 April 2021.
  14. ^ Gooding, Sarah (24 October 2018). "kero kero bonito finds solace in chaotic sounds". i-D. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
  15. ^ Staff, Seiji Sakiyama (1 November 2018). "Indie band Kero Kero Bonito talks pop, boring pop and Linkin Park". The Daily Californian.
  16. ^ "Time 'n' Place by Kero Kero Bonito Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  17. ^ a b c d Pearson, Luke (2 October 2018). "Kero Kero Bonito: Time 'n' Place". Exclaim!. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  18. ^ Farrell, Margaret (16 October 2018). "Kero Kero Bonito: Time 'n' Place". Pitchfork. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  19. ^ Schiller, Mike (24 October 2018). "Kero Kero Bonito's 'Time 'n' Place' Shows a Band Looking to the Future". PopMatters. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  20. ^ a b Mokoena, Tshepo (2 October 2018). "Kero Kero Bonito's Surprise Album Is a Skuzzy, Awesome Rebirth". Noisey. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  21. ^ "ACE Repertory - Lobban, Douglas Augustus".
  22. ^ a b "Kero Kero Bonito – Time 'n' Place". Polyvinyl Record Co. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  23. ^ @KeroKeroBonito (19 February 2021). "This is one of the few KKB songs Gus also provides backing vocals for. The Parakeets' "ooh-hoo-hoo!" you just heard…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  24. ^ "Kero Kero Bonito Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  25. ^ "Kero Kero Bonito Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
  26. ^ "Kero Kero Bonito Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  27. ^ "Kero Kero Bonito Chart History (Vinyl Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  28. ^ "Time 'n' Place by Kero Kero Bonito". Apple Music. October 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  29. ^ Pearis, Bill (1 October 2018). "Kero Kero Bonito release new LP 'Time 'n' Place'". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
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