The closing track “Well Rested” is a seven-minute, acid house epic about humanity. Delivered in an unaffected tone, Perry’s lyrics are matter-of-fact, like a diary entry or a shopping list: “ I set a call up with a friend/ A means towards an end, ’til we can meet again/ Hey, so, how are you doing?/ I’m okay, you know, the usual kinda weird.” When put together with Lobban and Bulled’s sunny yet quietly melancholic instrumentals, the result is strangely unsettling. Opening track “The Princess and the Clock” is a peppy, 8-bit fairytale about a kidnapped protagonist who’s trapped in a castle, while “21/04/20” recounts a day in Bromley during the first lockdown: needing to go for a walk, seeing ambulances pass, scheduling in a call with a friend. The three tracks are divided into past, present, and future. The alt-pop trio’s youthful energy was certainly not lost through quarantine, as their refreshing Civilisation II EP solidifies the band’s unmatched eclectic and youthful spirit.The EP was loosely inspired by American trumpeter Jon Hassell’s concept of ‘fourth world’ music, which brings together primitive and modern sounds, to bring forth “fantastical fictional cultures”, or imagined worlds that feel real. Kero Kero Bonito’s three-track EP comes at the perfect time, acting as a reminder of the blooming spring and a beacon of hope for a sunnier summer to come. It ties the EP together as the song that integrates varying beats, drum-like taps, as well as the space-y and electric sounds that are woven throughout the album.
As the EP’s finale, “Well Rested” plays temporally with futuristic concepts, as the track alludes to ideas of resurrection, as well as the ambiguity of morality. The EP closes out with the seven-minute “Well Rested,” which is a remix of the longest song they’ve ever written, “Rest Stop” from their second studio album, Time ’n’ Place. It’s a smooth intermediary between the first track’s upbeat rhythms and the more rhythmic and lengthy concluding song. Although not as explosive as “The Princess and the Clock,” “21/04/20” highlights Sarah Perry’s dreamy vocals, as she melodically brings to life details of flowers in bloom and conversations with friends. On the contrary, “21/04/20” diverges from fiction and maintains a grip on the present, as it references a specific day in lockdown. Right from the EP’s get-go, it’s clear the trio is unafraid to continuously push creative boundaries, whether it’s through relying only on vintage hardware to produce experimental synth sounds or crafting an enticing fairytale world out of thin air. Jacobs, which delicately unfolds the fictional story in a visual format. The track is also accompanied by a beautifully animated video illustrated by Dan W. The song was written pre-COVID, but its themes of isolation remain as relevant as ever. The EP opens with “The Princess and the Clock,” a colorful and fast-paced song that, according to the band, details the kidnapping, imprisonment, and idolization of a young explorer who dreams of escape. Like Civilisation I, the three-track EP was entirely produced and recorded in Lobban’s bedroom, and, as stated by Polyvinyl Records, each song progresses through the different tenses of past, present, and future. The trio, consisting of Sarah Midori Perry (Sarah Bonito), Gus Lobban, and Jamie Bulled are known for their genre-bending sound that mixes J-pop, video-game-esque effects, and silky, youthful vocals. The London-based art-pop band’s most recent EP, Civilisation II -a sequel to their preceding Civilisation I EP, which came out in September 2019- bursts with pent-up energy. Listening to the work of certain artists scratches the pandemic-induced itch to dash to the club and dance with strangers- Kero Kero Bonito is one of them.
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