''Civilisation II'' is the fifth extended play (EP) by British indie pop band Kero Kero Bonito, released on 21 April 2021 by Polyvinyl. The follow-up to 2019's ''

Civilisation I ''Civilisation I'' is the fourth extended play (EP) by British band Kero Kero Bonito. It was released on 30 September 2019, shortly after the single "When the Fires Come". In a press release for its sequel EP, '' Civilisation II'', the band de ...

'' EP, ''Civilisation II'' was preceded by the single "The Princess and the Clock" on 24 February 2021. In a press release, Kero Kero Bonito described ''Civilisation II'' as a continuation of the ideas presented on ''Civilisation I'', where they "explore instinctive human tendencies across three tracks, all completely devised using vintage hardware". Both EPs along with an additional track, "Gateway", were merged into a

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

, titled simply ''Civilisation'' and released on 10 September 2021.

Background

The prequel EP ''Civilisation I'', released on 30 September 2019, was originally meant to be a stand alone project four tracks in length, named ''Civilisation'', to build upon the themes of their second album ''

Time 'n' Place ''Time 'n' Place'' is the second studio album by British indie pop band Kero Kero Bonito, released on 1 October 2018 through Polyvinyl Record Co in North America and self-released worldwide. It is their first album released under Polyvinyl. Produc ...

'' for their 2019 tour, but was shortened to three tracks, and split into two projects. The continuation, ''Civilisation II'', was originally meant to be released in 2020, but was pushed back to 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Release and promotion

Kero Kero Bonito announced the EP on 24 February 2021, along with releasing the single "The Princess and the Clock" with an accompanying music video to their YouTube channel. The EP was released via Polyvinyl on 21 April 2021, along with the single "21/04/20" being uploaded to their YouTube channel.

Composition

''Civilisation II'' has been described as a dream pop,

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

, hyperpop, futurepop,

glitch pop Glitch is a genre of electronic music that emerged in the 1990s. It is distinguished by the deliberate use of glitch-based audio media and other sonic artifacts. The glitching sounds featured in glitch tracks usually come from audio recording de ...

, art pop, and indie pop record. The production of the EP was done with a

Korg DSS-1 The Korg DSS-1 is a 12-bit polyphonic sampling synthesizer released in September 1986. It came out at a time when many of the popular synthesizer companies were beginning to get into sampling, an area of sound design that had previously been left ...

sampler and consisted a mix of vintage

synths A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and f ...

and evocative lyrics with a dreamy

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

. Kero Kero Bonito has also cited that the three tracks of the record, like ''Civilisation I'', also represents three different tenses: past, present, and future.

Songs

''Civilisation II'' opens with the bubblegum, synth-pop, experimental pop, and hyperpop track "Princess and the Clock". The song represents "past", lyrically tells about "a kidnapped protagonist being trapped in a chamber" with a

chiptune Chiptune, also known as chip music or 8-bit music, is a style of synthesized electronic music made using the programmable sound generator (PSG) sound chips or synthesizers in vintage arcade machines, computers and video game consoles. The t ...

influence on the production. The second track representing "present", "21/4/20" is an indie pop song with a "futuristic vibe". Lyricisms of the track has been described as "ambling and diaristic" about reflections on lockdown of the previous year through a fable style, and has been likened as a sequel to " Visiting Hours". The record closes with the synth-funk, electro, glitch pop, and techno track "Well Rested", a remix of the song " Rest Stop". Noted as the "most experimental cut on the EP", the beat of the track has been characterised as "between vaporwave and

acid house Acid house (also simply known as just "acid") is a subgenre of house music developed around the mid-1980s by DJs from Chicago. The style is defined primarily by the squelching sounds and basslines of the Roland TB-303 electronic bass synthesiz ...

". The song represents "future", it features lyricisms about an

environmental collapse An ecosystem is considered collapsed when its unique biotic (characteristic biota) or abiotic features are lost from all previous occurrences. Ecosystem collapse causes ecological collapse within a system; essentially altering its stability, r ...

about "envisioning a transhumanist future as humanity evolves into new forms".

Reception

''Civilisation II'' was met with positive reviews upon release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 based on reviews from mainstream critics, the album received a score of 82 out of 100, based on reviews from five critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Shaad D'Souza from '' Pitchfork'' described the EP as "focusing on the emotional toll of disaster with ingenuity, wit, and a warm, bright sound" in contrast to ''Civilisation I''s "nightmarish visions of perpetual war and wildfire smoke". They also noted that it "meditates not on human decline as much as the fables and myths we create in order to adjust to it." Martyn Young of ''

Dork Dork is a pejorative term for a person (compare with " dweeb" and "fool"). Dork may also refer to: People * Dork Sahagian, Armenian-American climate scientist Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Dork'' (EP), an album by AFI * ''Dork'' (magaz ...

'' states that the EP "represent the multi-faceted joy of a band who can do it all". Jeff Cubbison of '' Impose'' called the track "The Princess and the Clock" an "explosive experimental synth pop anthem", describing it as a "shimmering and poignant dark-fairytale." Joe Vitagliano of '' American Songwriter'' named the EP one of the "best" releases from the first half of 2021, writing that "the

eclectic Eclectic may refer to: Music * ''Eclectic'' (Eric Johnson and Mike Stern album), 2014 * ''Eclectic'' (Big Country album), 1996 * Eclectic Method, name of an audio-visual remix act * Eclecticism in music, the conscious use of styles alien to th ...

mix of vintage synths, evocative lyrics and dreamy arrangements comes together to form something truly sublime." Kate Elridge from ''Riot'' on the other hand described the EP as "less cohesive" than ''Civilisation I'', and while having a "promising start", remarking that the three tracks are "separate and unrelated", making the EP feel "disorganised and incomplete".

Track listing

References

{{Kero Kero Bonito 2021 EPs Kero Kero Bonito albums Polyvinyl Record Co. EPs Sequel albums