Sunflower Bean practically asked for the ‘saviours of rock and roll’ label with their 2016 debut, ‘Human Ceremony’, a collection of spunky tunes evoking the golden days of psychedelia, glam and shoegaze. Hell, their guitarist was even a dead ringer for a young Bob Dylan.
But the New York three-piece also showed that they hadn’t just come to provide a placeholder service for the next big thing. They showed real promise - the kind that extends beyond rock’s increasingly frail confines. Their second album, ‘Twentytwo In Blue’, makes good on that promise, offering up a batch of songs that are more confident, mature and focused.
Opener Burn It sets the tone, trotting along with the swagger and poise of a T-Rex chart-topper. Crisis Fest, an apparent ‘fuck you’ to Donald Trump’s America and mounting student debts, consolidates this sentiment.
“We brought you into this place, you know we can take you out,” belts a double-tracked Julia Cummings above a fuzzy layer of Status Quo-esque riffage.
At times, though, Sunflower Bean’s vintage idolatry borders on unashamed imitation. Sinking Sands’ whimsical nonchalance strongly evokes classic Velvet Underground, and if it wasn’t for guitarist Nick Kivlen occasionally taking over lead vocals on I Was A Fool, the tune would come scarily close to sounding like Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams. It probably doesn’t help that Cummings naturally sounds a bit like Stevie Nicks, but they do skate close to the edge.
Yet, despite the somewhat anachronistic sounds on ‘Twentytwo In Blue’, Sunflower Bean have shown that they really know how to craft a song. Almost everything here (bar a couple of wishy-washy fillers towards the end) is delivered with a level of professionalism and expertise that was arguably lacking on their bow.
Twentytwo - a song that documents the feeling of teetering on the precipice of young adulthood - is a real gem, with Cummings’ unsullied vocal effortlessly gliding above sparkly guitars and soft strings like a paintbrush across a fresh canvas. Sunflower Bean aren’t the saviours of rock and roll, because as far as they’re concerned it doesn’t need saving. ‘Twentytwo In Blue’ isn’t a reinvention of guitar music: it’s a celebration of it.
Sunflower Bean Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Tue March 27 2018 - BIRMINGHAM Hare and Hounds
Wed March 28 2018 - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE Riverside
Thu March 29 2018 - LEEDS Wardrobe
Fri March 30 2018 - MANCHESTER Gorilla
Sat March 31 2018 - LIVERPOOL Substation at Invisible Wind Factory
Sun April 01 2018 - GLASGOW Stereo
Tue April 03 2018 - BRISTOL Thekla
Wed April 04 2018 - BRIGHTON Concorde 2
Thu April 05 2018 - BRIGHTON Concorde 2
Fri April 06 2018 - LONDON KOKO
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