London-based trio Kero Kero Bonito surprise-released their sophomore record Time ‘n’ Place in October, their first for Polyvinyl Records. The record saw the band lean away from their original J-Pop influences towards sounds reminiscent of guitar-based bands like My Bloody Valentine and Mount Eerie. Our Song of the Day, “Flyway,” incorporates the shoegaze of the former band with KKB’s signature twee lyricism to make a driving pop song. Last month, ahead of the vinyl release of Time ‘n’ Place, the band gave an in-depth interview with KEXP where the band told Dusty Henry:
“There's nothing on the album that is generated by computer. Everything is either the band or you know recorded or synth, like hardware synth, and it does have a kind of a mix of all those things that the way it references the past doesn't really make logical sense. You know that some of the chords are indie cords, some of the chords like singer / songwriter-y things, some of them are more experimental and don't really belong to those harmonic vocabularies. But it's somehow relevant, there is a thread that runs through it which maybe is only perceivable to us, but you know we use the word time and place like an adjective, like 'that's very time 'n place' – it just seems obvious to us even though it runs through this whole thread of years that is sort of arbitrary in comparison.”
Kero Kero Bonito will take the Studio 9294 stage on Tuesday, February 5 to celebrate KEXP’s International Clash Day with a live broadcast from London at 8:30 AM PST / 4:30 PM GMT. KEXP spoke to Kero Kero Bonito about the significance of The Clash in a brief interview here. In celebration of the 40th anniversary of The Clash’s landmark album London Calling, KEXP will travel to London for a 4-day live broadcast and online event, featuring live performances and exclusive interviews. Check out the full schedule of performances here.
Watch the self-directed VHS-style video for "Flyway" below.
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