RETRO REVIEW: Kero Kero Bonito - Time 'n' Place
How to age gracefully without losing your inner child.
I’ve been writing reviews of music for several years now, and as I get back into writing regularly, I thought I could repost some of my favorite reviews I’ve written here. As we anxiously await Kero Kero Bonito’s 3rd full-length LP, let’s look back at their excellent sophomore album, an record that turns seven years old in 2025. You can find the original review on my AOTY account here.
On their sophomore LP, Kero Kero Bonito don't change their sound so much as evolve it. Gone (but not forgotten) are the sugar coated cutesy songs of simple pleasures like taking pictures and sleeping in. Time 'n' Place comes at you with an aggressive loudness, full of fuzzy guitars, bumping drums and moody synths. Beneath the controlled chaos of the instrumentation, you'll find emotionally resonant lyrics about the pain of growing up and our devout fondness of the past. The end result is a sadder but important moment of growth for the band, and it's one of the best releases of 2018.
Right out of the gate you can see how much KKB has updated their sound. On the opener "Outside", Sarah Bonito's trademark cutesy vocals are accompanied by booming garage rock drums and guitars. The garage rock influence is felt all throughout the album. Tracks like “Only Acting” and "Flyway" sound like they could have come out of a 90's Weezer record. The aforementioned “Only Acting” ends with a swath of blaring noise, reminiscent of noise rock acts of the early 2000's. What you'd call quote on quote traditional KKB tracks like “Time Today” and “Make Believe” still include less sugary synthesizers that are equally as catchy as anything from Bonito Generation. Despite the seemingly dissonant genre influence on TnP, the tracklist glides through every song with ease. Sounds melt into one another as if they were always meant to mix, all rhythmic and catchy, and no song ever overextends its welcome with a nice total runtime of 32 minutes.
In addition to new ideas being tested sonically, TnP brings lyrical depth we haven't previously seen from the band. The melancholy of nostalgia is a central theme here, commenting on the difficulty of growing up. These songs relish the forgotten activities of childhood, from reading old letters to finding time to daydream in your busy life. Sarah Bonito's vocals walk a fine line between childish and mature, bringing that nostalgic effectiveness few others are capable of. The tracks, even with their innately sad lyrics, never get bogged down, with the swirl of the instruments and Sarah's voice keep the songs enjoyable.
Though a bit jarring for those who come expecting songs about shrimp, TnP will stick with you long after the final moments. From start to finish it's an outstanding effort, successfully mixing bits of the playful lightheartedness we're used to from KKB with a more mature thematic base. Rarely does a band jump theme and sound with this amount of success, and each subsequent return I've made to TnP is just as exciting and memorable as the first.
Verdict: 9.4/10
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