Time 'n' Place is the second studio album by British indie pop bandKero Kero Bonito, released on 1 October 2018 through Polyvinyl Record Co. It is their first album released under Polyvinyl. Produced by the band's multi-instrumentalist Gus Lobban, it includes the previously released singles "Only Acting", "Time Today", and "Make Believe". Musically, the album marks a stylistic departure from the band's previous electronic musical efforts, showcasing a mix of indie rock, shoegaze and dream popmusical styles.
Background
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." Jamie Bulled and Lobban began to play on the instruments they first learned music on, and Sarah Perry was moved to write lyrics inspired by images recalling her childhood memories. The song "Visiting Hours" features lyrics written by Lobban about his frequent visits to his hospitalised father, and "If I'd Known", written by Perry and Bulled, was inspired by their frequent indecision. 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.
Critical reception
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." 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." 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" and frankly it's hard not to miss that style," 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." 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."
Track listing
"Outside" – 1:51
"Time Today" – 2:11
"Only Acting" – 3:49
"Flyway" – 1:58
"Dump" – 3:01
"Make Believe" – 3:27
"Dear Future Self" – 2:46
"Visiting Hours" – 2:25
"If I'd Known" – 2:43
"Sometimes" – 2:01
"Swimming" – 3:19
"Rest Stop" – 3:22
Personnel
Credits adapted from Kero Kero Bonito's and their label's official websites. Kero Kero Bonito