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about this album
TOTEP (erroneously spelled out on the spine of physical releases as The One True EP) is the third extended play by British band Kero Kero Bonito, self-released on 20 February 2018. The EP marks a departure from the "sunny" electropop of previous releases in favor of a "grungier, guitar-heavy style, full of crunching distortion and glitched out noise." The EP was preceded by the single "Only Acting", which was later featured on the band's second studio album, Time 'n' Place (2018). Anna Gace of Spin opined that the songs on the EP "feel a bit sketched-in, but they also suggest that KKB see a future where they're not just cranking out delightfully goofy bubblegum dance-pop." James Rettig of Stereogum wrote, "The new songs cycle through grunge-y, power-poppy, and dreamy, and they're all great and demonstrate the versatility of KKB's sound." Following the group's signing to Polyvinyl Records, the EP was issued physically for the first time and charted at #6 on the Top Heatseekers chart. Personnel Kero Kero Bonito: Sarah Midori Perry – vocals Gus Lobban – drums, production Jamie Bulled – bass Additional musicians: James Rowland – guitar, noise The Parakeets (Cecile Believe, z & Oscar) – backing vocals Technical: Jimmy Robertson – recording Andy Ramsay – engineering Anthony Lim – additional mixing, mastering User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.
why this is interesting
# TOTEP: A Turning Point Worth Exploring This EP marks a genuine pivot for the band, abandoning their previous electropop brightness for something rawer and more textured. The shift toward guitar-driven arrangements and deliberate distortion reveals artists willing to interrogate their own sound rather than repeat it. What's particularly striking is how the songs balance polish with intentional roughness—they're neither half-finished sketches nor overworked productions, but rather experiments in controlled noise. For listeners interested in how bands evolve, or in the creative decisions behind sonic reinvention, this work demonstrates how constraint and limitation can paradoxically expand artistic possibility. It's a brief but concentrated statement of artistic restlessness
