This may seem odd to describe Kero Kero Bonito (or KKB for short), but a quote by the ancient Greek statesman Pericles is apt: “Time is the wisest counsellor of all.”

Sure, it was easy in 2016 to peg KKB as one of those fizzy, gorgeously Instagrammable bands when they appeared on the horizon with their debut album, Bonito Generation, but things weren’t so simple with their 2018 follow-up titled, well, Time ‘n’ Place.

Whereas the first is a pop canister pumped with breezy riffs and ridiculous hooks –described as J-pop meets dancehall meets video game soundtrack – the second is rockier, rougher, and altogether tougher. It’s knowing, more scarred, and thus, more resilient.

As the members see it, they are merely reflecting the vicissitudes of the world order. On the phone from London, multi-instrumentalists and producers Gus Lobban and Jamie Bulled, and vocalist Sarah Midori Perry (known by her stage name Sarah Bonito) are unfailingly affable, but there is something serious and focused which belie their demeanour and their evolving songcraft.

Their surprise EP Civilisation I, for one, touches on war, religion and climate change, fronted by the contemplative synth-pop single ‘When The Fires Come’, which yet signals another change in the musical direction. Hell, they even covered ‘I’ve Seen Footage’ by super-cool Sacramento experimental hip-hop group Death Grips at a gig in the latter’s hometown in October.

For Time ‘n’ Place, music nerd Gus has cited as influences diverse acts such as defunct Japanese bands, namely Citrus, and Judy and Mary; American electro-experimental rock act Sweet Trip; Scottish duo Strawberry Switchblade; and English rockers Lush.

Why the risk-taking? Gus admits it’s a gamble: “We thought that people who love the old KKB were going to desert us, and that the people who like this kind of music were just not going to know who we were. I was really surprised by the response. It was really encouraging that people like it because it was bold musically, and because we make points not every band makes.”

Time ‘n’ Place captures personal and global undercurrents, including the loss of several family members. Sarah also dreamt of recurring images – a water park from her childhood, a hallway in her primary school. Then she received a text sent by her brother who visited their hometown Otaru in Hokkaido in 2017.

“My old house that I grew up in was demolished. It was gone,” she recalls. “He sent me a black-and-white picture of where the house was. It is a field now. My old primary school got closed down as well. The past is disappearing. It’s a weird time – we’re not going to school anymore, we’re adults, and then there’s the future… And that really inspires Time ‘n’ Place.”

For Gus, one song ‘Visiting Hours’ from the album was especially meaningful. It was written after his father ended up in the intensive care unit due to a health scare. The lyrics were lifted from the seemingly humdrum conversation between his parents. “I should let you go to bed/Brush your teeth take it easy get some rest/I’ll be back here again tomorrow morning/I’ll see you then,” Sarah sings, before offering a “night, night.”

Gus shares a private moment: “One day, just before the record came out, my mum came up the stairs in tears, and she said, ‘Gus, I know what ‘Visiting Hours’ is all about.’ We hugged it out. It was crazy, to be honest. It was a beautiful moment. When we played that song for our first show after the album release, Dad was out since that incident. That was pretty emotional.”

Jamie agrees: “It was embracing the chaos of such situations. We have to embrace that, and come out from the other side.”