Sunflower Bean

Sunflower Bean is an American rock band from Glen Head, New York and Brooklyn founded in 2013. The band consists of Julia Cumming (bass, lead vocals), Nick Kivlen (guitars, backing vocals), and Olive Faber (drums).^[1] Their most recent album Headful of Sugar was released in May 2022.

Sunflower Bean
Sunflower Bean performing in 2018
Background information
Origin	Glen Head, New York and Brooklyn, New York, US
Genres	Glam rock, indie rock, post-punk revival, psychedelic rock
Years active	2013–present
Labels	Fat Possum, Mom + Pop Music
Members	Julia Cumming Olive Faber Nick Kivlen
Website	sunflowerbeanband.com

Career

 

Julia Cumming, Olive Faber and Nick Kivlen rehearsing, October 2013

Kivlen and Faber were childhood acquaintances who both enrolled at North Shore High School in Glen Head, New York in 2009. They initially collaborated when Olive briefly subbed for the drummer in Turnip King, the band for which Nick was the bassist.^[2] By early 2013, the two began to create their own original music, practising and writing in Faber's basement.^[3] The name of their new band apparently came about due to Kivlen's obsession with sunflower seeds alongside Faber's concurrent love of coffee and coffee beans. The Manhattan-based Cumming, who had been performing in the band Supercute! along with Rachel Trachtenburg since 2009, met Faber and Kivlen at an early Sunflower Bean show; she agreed to join the band as bassist in August 2013, as Supercute! was dissolving.^[4] In the following year, the band moved from Long Island to Bushwick, Brooklyn, becoming active in the borough's thriving "DIY" scene,^[5] even as they felt ambivalent about much of the scene's aesthetic.^[6]

The band's appearance at the 2014 CMJ Music Marathon received good notices from All Songs Considered's Bob Boilen^[7] and from The New York Times's Jon Pareles, who wrote "New York is still home to bands as varied as Sunflower Bean, whose music suggests what might have happened if psychedelia had emerged after punk and the Police rather than before."^[8] They released their first EP, ‘’Show Me Your Seven Secrets’’, initially through their Bandcamp page on January 5, 2015.,^[9] and later via Fat Possum Records. The EP, which features the singles "Tame Impala" and "2013", was called "astonishingly good" by the NME.^[10] (The band, fans of Tame Impala, had named a song after the Australian combo, noting that Tame Impala itself had named a song "Led Zeppelin".^[6] ) Cumming provided a good description of the band's sound at the time to i-D: "We used to call it 'neo-psychedelia for the digital age', and now we've just been calling it 'night music', however someone may take that. It's like if Black Sabbath mixed with The Smiths, maybe?"^[11] The band - then as now - toured relentlessly, gaining themselves the title of New York City's "hardest-working band" in 2014 ^[12]); they still tour extensively today, both as headliners and as openers for bands like Pixies, Wolf Alice, DIIV, Foxygen, Best Coast, Cherry Glazerr and Sleigh Bells.

After a successful series of performances at South by Southwest 2015, the band was signed to Fat Possum Records, and an inaugural 7" single ("I Hear Voices" b/w "The Stalker") was released on July 24. On November 12, 2015, they premiered the single "Wall Watcher" on The Fader, announcing also the cover art, release date and track list of their first album, Human Ceremony.^[13] The album, which had a more nuanced and pop-friendly feel than the band's earlier "heavy neo-psychedelia" recordings, was released on February 5, 2016, via Fat Possum Records.^[14] The album was recorded at Thump Studios in Greenpoint, Brooklyn in eleven days - produced by Matthew Molnar (formerly of the band Friends) and engineered by Jarvis Taveniere. The Fader wrote that Human Ceremony's "sounds are retro, but the lyrics grapple with the loneliness of contemporary existence"; Faber opined to the magazine that the album was “about the weight of being alive,”, while Kivlen wondered how alien civilizations would grapple with seemingly incomprehensible present-day human behaviors on Earth: “If there was an alien text book, there would be a picture, and the alien-language caption would just say, like, 'Human Ceremony'."^[15] Billboard (magazine)'s Joe Lynch wrote "Even though no one in Sunflower Bean is of legal drinking age, the Brooklyn indie trio's Human Ceremony is one of the most fully realized, sonically eclectic debut albums (everything from psych pop to stoner metal gets touched upon) in a minute".^[16]

"I Was a Fool", the first single released from Sunflower Bean's second album Twentytwo in Blue, debuted on NPR's "Songs We Love" series on November 3, 2017,^[17] distributed by Mom + Pop Music in the US and by Lucky Number Music worldwide.^[18] The album, released on March 23, 2018, was co-produced by Matthew Molnar and Jacob Portrait (of Unknown Mortal Orchestra), recorded at Thump Studios by Jarvis Taveniere, and mixed by Portrait. The band released a second single ("Crisis Fest") on January 12, 2018.^[19]

The band released an EP, King of the Dudes, on January 25, 2019 on the Mom + Pop Music label.  The EP featured the single "Come For Me".^[20]

A single, "Baby Don't Cry", was issued on Mom + Pop on October 13, 2021.^[21] This song was included on the band's third full-length album, Headful of Sugar, which was released on May 6, 2022 on Mom + Pop.^[22]

Musical influences

Sunflower Bean's influences come from various genres and artists. The acts include Beach Fossils, Black Sabbath, The Byrds, Captured Tracks, The Cure, Devo, DIIV, Fleetwood Mac, Glam Rock, Led Zeppelin, Connan Mockasin, The Modern Lovers, Neu!, Nirvana, Pink Floyd, The Ramones, The Rolling Stones, Sex Pistols, The Smiths, Spacemen 3/Spiritualized, Sun Kil Moon, Talking Heads, Tame Impala, Tonstartssbandht, Total Slacker, T. Rex, The Velvet Underground, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, The Who, and Brian Wilson.^[23][24][25]

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected details and chart positions

Title	Details	Peak chart positions
		UK ^[26]
Human Ceremony	Released: February 5, 2016 Label: Fat Possum Formats: 12" vinyl, CD, digital	—
Twentytwo in Blue	Released: March 23, 2018 Labels: Mom + Pop, Lucky Number Music Formats: 12" vinyl, CD, digital	39
Headful of Sugar	Released: May 6, 2022 Label: Mom + Pop	—

EPs

List of EPs, with selected details

Title	Details
Show Me Your Seven Secrets	Self-released: January 5, 2015 Fat Possum: October 16, 2015 Formats: 12" vinyl, digital
From the Basement (covers EP)	Released: September 9, 2016 Label: Fat Possum Formats: 12" vinyl, digital
King of the Dudes	Released: January 25, 2019^[27] Label: Lucky Number Music Formats: Digital

Singles

• "Bread" - released January 12, 2014 (self-released via Bandcamp)
• "2013" / "I Want You To Give Me Enough Time (demo)" - released March 17, 2014 (self-released via Bandcamp)
• "Tame Impala" / "Rock & Roll Heathen" - released August 15, 2014 (self-released via Bandcamp)
• "I Hear Voices" / "The Stalker" - released July 24, 2015 (Fat Possum Records)
• "Wall Watcher" - released November 12, 2015 (Fat Possum Records)
• "Easier Said" - released January 5, 2016 (Fat Possum Records)
• "I Was a Fool" - released November 3, 2017 (Mom + Pop/Lucky Number Music)
• "Crisis Fest" - released January 12, 2018 (Mom + Pop/Lucky Number Music)
• “Come For Me” - released October 30, 2018 (Mom + Pop/Lucky Number Music)
• "Moment In The Sun" - released September 17, 2020 (Mom + Pop/Lucky Number Music)
• "Baby Don't Cry" - released Oct. 13, 2021 (Mom + Pop)

Videos

• "2013" - released March 16, 2014 ^[28]
• "I Want You To Give Me Enough Time (demo)" - released April 14, 2014 ^[29]
• "Tame Impala" - released October 1, 2014 ^[30]
• "Wall Watcher" - released November 12, 2015 ^[31]
• "Easier Said" - released March 9, 2016 ^[32]
• "Come On" - released August 9, 2016 ^[33]
• "I Was a Fool" - released November 3, 2017 ^[34]
• "Crisis Fest" - released January 12, 2018 ^[35]
• "Twentytwo" - released March 5, 2018 ^[36]

References

1. Richards, Sam (30 January 2016). "One to watch: Sunflower Bean". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
2. BreakThruRadioTV (27 August 2012). "Turnip King - Serious Business on BTR [ep88]". Youtube.com. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
3. "How Sunflower Bean Reclaimed Classic Rock and Made It Cool Again". Noisey.vice.com. 30 March 2016. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
4. Snook, Emma (February 2, 2016). "Sunflower Bean: "Let the next generation have a hero"". DIY.
5. "Hedi Slimane Muse and Sunflower Bean Singer Julia Cumming on the Band's Debut Album". Vogue.com. 5 February 2016. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
6. "Discovery: Sunflower Bean - Interview Magazine". Interviewmagazine.com. 15 August 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
7. Boilen, Bob (27 October 2014). "Bob Boilen's Top 10 Discoveries From The 2014 CMJ Music Marathon". NPR. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
8. Pareles, Jon (26 October 2014). "Eras Mix Among 1,300 Groups at CMJ Music Marathon". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
9. ""Show Me Your Seven Secrets" EP, by Sunflower Bean". Sunflower Bean. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
10. "5 Great Albums That May Have Passed You By This Week - NME". NME. 22 May 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
11. "supercute sunflower bean singer, julia cumming, is hedi slimane's new muse". I-d.vice.com. 1 August 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
12. "The 10 Hardest-Working Bands of 2014". Ohmyrockets.com. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
13. "Sunflower Bean Announces Debut Full-Length With Another Killer Track". The FADER. Retrieved 2016-06-01.
14. Vozick-Levinson, Simon (29 January 2016). "Hear Sunflower Bean's Sharp, Dreamy Debut". rollingstone.com.
15. "Meet Sunflower Bean, The NYC Trio Making Retro Rock For Modern Life". Thefader.com. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
16. "Sunflower Bean Shares Favorite Music of 2016 So Far: Must-Hear Music Podcast". Billboard.com. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
17. Buerger, Megan (3 November 2017). "Get Into The Melancholy Groove Of Sunflower Bean's 'I Was A Fool'". NPR. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
18. "Sunflower Bean Join Mom + Pop and Release New Song "I Was A Fool" plus Video". Momandpopmusic.com. 3 November 2017. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
19. "Sunflower Bean Announce Twentytwo in Blue, Share Galvanizing Single "Crisis Fest. The album charted at 39 in the UK album chart"". Pastemagazine.com. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
20. "SUNFLOWER BEAN Release New EP Today via Mom + Pop".
21. "Sunflower Bean tell us about their celebratory new single 'Baby Don't Cry' and 2022 UK tour", NME, October 13, 2021
22. "Sunflower Bean Announce Headful of Sugar, Share 'Who Put You Up to This?'" Paste Magazine, February 27. 2022
23. "Discovery: Sunflower Bean - Interview Magazine". Interviewmagazine.com. 15 August 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
24. "Sunflower Bean: Meet NYC's Coolest Young Band". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
25. RIML_TV (3 March 2017). "Sunflower Bean on Records In My Life 2017". Youtube.com. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
26. "Sunflower Bean | full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
27. "King of the Dudes - EP by Sunflower Bean". iTunes (UK). Retrieved 1 November 2018.
28. "Sunflower Bean: 2013 - Rookie". Rookiemag.com. 17 March 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
29. Sunflower Bean (14 April 2014). "I want you to give me enough time DEMO - Sunflower Bean (DEMO)". YouTube. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
30. "video premiere: sunflower bean "tame impala"". Nylon.com. 1 October 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
31. "Hurtle Through Sunflower Bean's "Wall Watcher" Video". Thefader.com. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
32. "Watch Sunflower Bean's Dreamy 'Easier Said' Video". Mtv.com. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
33. "Watch Sunflower Bean's "Come On" Video - Pitchfork". pitchfork.com. 9 August 2016. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
34. "Sunflower Bean unveil 'I Was A Fool' video". DIY. 10 November 2017. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
35. "Sunflower Bean document Brooklyn show in new 'Crisis Fest' video". DIY. 19 January 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
36. "Sunflower Bean head to prom for 'TwentyTwo'". DIY. 5 March 2018. Retrieved 9 April 2020.

External links

• Official website
• Sunflower Bean Discogs
• Sunflower Bean Vevo