Kero Kero Bonito — Civilisation — Album Review
Alternative | Electronic | Pop
Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Music
I recall that it was the october of 2018 that I first started properly diving into the musical world of the south London electro-pop band Kero Kero Bonito. Due to what I would’ve called a pretty scarce time for new music, I was very fortunate to have discovered their newest album at the time, titled Time ’n’ Place. This sophomore studio album presented an incredibly innovative and current brand of pop, that I was 100 percent behind. I definitely enjoyed that project enough to become a swift fan of the group. And as a result, I was eager for whatever they had up their sleeve next.
It turned out, however, that me and many other fans would be waiting a very long time for the next full project to come along. We did fortunately get the three-track EP, Civilisation I, back in 2019. But it would take another two years for that EP’s sequel to arrive. Following the release of Civilisation II earlier this year, I decided to review the two aforementioned EPs back to back. You can check out that review here, as I go more in depth about the music itself, as opposed to the little rant I’ll be having in this review.
And while I thought that would essentially wrap-up the Civilisation saga for Kero Kero Bonito, it turned out that the complete Civilisation project, that fans had clearly been anticipating highly for a very long time, was still on the way. The week had finally arrived, where the supposedly final project, just titled Civilisation this time, was finally here.
But as I got into the project, I realised that I had heard everything on there already. Like, literally, almost all of it.
That being said, I was questioning whether to write a review for Civilisation at all. But, I digress. Besides, I have been waiting since 2018 to do another Kero Kero Bonito album review.
That being said, Civilisation is far more of a compilation than an album, in the sense that it literally sticks Civilisation I and Civilisation II together. But that brings me to the point that waiting almost three years for just 6 tracks, and almost nothing that’s completely new, feels disappointing, to say the very least.
The one supposed saving grace for Civilisation was the one track in the midst of the project, that I actually wasn’t as familiar with, titled “Gateway”. And at this point, I was somewhat thankful that they had at least been generous enough to throw in one more track for fans to enjoy.
To my further disappointment, however, “Gateway” was nothing more than a under-a-minute interlude.
I have to say that Civilisation is one of, if not the stingiest helping of musical content to arrive in the timeframe of three years. As a result, I am still left waiting for a proper and more full album to come along from what I know to be a very creative band. It’s just a shame that it doesn’t come through on a project like this one.
Favourite Tracks: Battle Lines | The Princess and the Clock | Well Rested
Least Favourite Track: Well Rested
Kero Kero Bonito Limited
Enjoyment: 6/10 | Memorability: 4/10 | Atmosphere: 8/10
Uniqueness: 7/10 | Satisfaction: 2/10 | Narrative: 6/10
