Kero Kero Bonito have released their new EP, Civilisation II, today, on the one-year anniversary that they wrote one of its songs, “21/04/20,” toward the start of coronavirus lockdown. Like early single “The Princess And The Clock” — which landed on our best songs of the week list — that one is dreamlike and airy, luxuriating in time spent outside while feeling isolated. Those are joined by “Well Rested,” a spacey and throbbing 7-minute odyssey that sounds like it’s being transmitted from 100 years in the future. It’s a good EP! Watch a video for “21/04/20” and listen to Civilisation II below.

Here’s the band’s full statement on the EP:

Civilisation II is the sequel to our 2019 EP Civilisation I. Like it’s predecessor, Civilisation II explores lost world art pop, made entirely with old synthesisers and assorted junk in our quest to realise a fantastical parallel timeline for pop music, with lyrics encompassing religion, our society and the environment.

Each of Civilisation II’s three tracks are set in the past, present and future respectively. “The Princess and the Clock” (past) is a legend of our own invention, designed to feel like a familiar folk tale. It tells the story of a young explorer who was kidnapped and revered as a princess by an isolated society; her worshippers later found her gone, but it’s up to the listener to guess her fate. “21/04/20” (present) recounts a typical day in the early Covid lockdown in Bromley (South London), complete with a late leftover pasta breakfast, enthusiastic joggers and friendship conducted over video call. Its direct, documentary style was inspired by narrative art like the Bayeux Tapestry and Trajan’s Column. “Well Rested” (future), our longest track yet at over seven minutes, addresses The Resurrection and humanity’s distant future. It’s a humanist manifesto for the Anthropocene in several parts incorporating chants, an insistent four-to-the-floor and field recordings of natural sites.

The Civilisation era, with its conflation of time on the grandest scale, is a bridge between our more personal 2018 album Time ‘n’ Place and KKB’s next move. Whatever that may be, don’t forget: You Cannot Stop Civilisation.

The Civilisation II EP is out now via Polyvinyl.