The lyrics recount a fable about a princess trapped in a tower, “painting pictures of the land that made her” as a form of remembrance. Opening with a racing hi-hat rhythm and amiable analog synth, lead single and opener “The Princess and the Clock” feels warm in a way that KKB singles haven’t always straightforward verses give way to a swelling chorus that cuts up and resamples Perry’s voice into a new vocal melody, à la Porter Robinson. KKB describe the songs on Civilisation II as representing past, present, and future, respectively, a concept that feels unnecessary when the music is as intellectually salient and catchy as ever. The conditions of its creation would seem to inspire another EP of soothsaying, but Civilisation II takes a different tack, focusing on the emotional toll of disaster with ingenuity, wit, and a warm, bright sound scrubbed of Time ‘n’ Place’s grit. In the intervening months, grotesque catastrophe has only become more commonplace: Violent wildfires dominated headlines at the beginning of 2020, before the pandemic-and the ways in which it exposed the seemingly bottomless depths of corporate greed and governmental incompetence-took over. On centerpiece “When the Fires Come,” Perry sang about global decline with prophetic economy: “Everybody takes their time making work to do, do, do, do/But no one will be left here to remember us/When the fires come.”Ĭivilisation II, a second three-song EP, arrives over a year later. Though only three tracks long, it hit hard, evoking nightmarish visions of perpetual war and wildfire smoke. If Time ‘n’ Place was colored by personal loss, Civilisation I, the band’s 2019 EP, shifted its gaze to the collective loss engendered by colonialism, capitalism, and global heating. Time ‘n’ Place’s “Visiting Hours,” a verité-style account of Lobban’s trip to see his father in the hospital, is typical KKB 2.0: poignant, emotionally aware, and anxious about modern life. Concurrently, the band’s writing became more precise, less reliant on the deadpan catchphrases that structured early favorites like “ Flamingo.” As hyperpop has become more interested in replicating the memeish terror of the internet-see the abrasive non-sequiturs of 100 gecs-KKB traveled in the other direction, evoking the pathos and bathos of everyday life. In 2018, Time ‘n’ Place took its cues from suburban shoegaze, the indie rock of Phil Elverum, and pop-punk, a musical Venn diagram connected by noise and vivid vignettes. Since Bonito Generation, KKB have strayed further from hyperpop conventions.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |