Sunflower Bean continues to grow. 

Sunflower Bean has come a long way since their debut as teenagers. Composed of drummer Olive Faber, guitarist/vocalist Nick Kivlen, and bassist/vocalist Julia Cumming, the Brooklyn-born rock band have grown a lot since stepping onto the scene in 2016 with their album Human Ceremony and journeying through introspection on baby adulthood and the pitfalls of living through late-stage capitalism in their subsequent works Twentytwo in Blue and Headful of Sugar respectively (via AllMusic and Lodge Room). Despite the excellent chemistry and obvious talent they demonstrated in their previous works, as well as the solid fan base they had built from those qualities, their latest album, Mortal Primetime, was rarely realized.

Following the release of Headful of Sugar, Faber, Kivlen, and Cumming drifted apart as they “pursued new projects and [navigated] personal challenges, tragedies and transformations.” Deciding to stay together forced the three to dig deep; as best put by Cumming herself, “Coming close to losing something you fought for, for over a decade, is a really good way to get close to your heart as an artist.” (via Lodge Room). Mortal Primetime is a testament to that. On their fifth album, Sunflower Bean demonstrates just how much they have matured, as they refine their sound and open up about the pitfalls they’ve faced along the way.

Sunflower Bean has long been noted for their staunch refusal to conform to any one sound. Experimentation across a variety of rock and pop genres is their bread and butter and the cannon they continue to follow and improve upon in Mortal Primetime, as they lay the album out across emotional ballads (“Waiting For The Rain,” “Please Rewind”), crackling indie rock (“Champagne Taste”), soft rock (“Take Out Your Insides”), among other styles, and continue to create their imaginings of what these genres sound like. Despite the play between genres, the overall listening experience remains rather inoffensive, pleasing, and mellow (excellent for playing in the background of a long road trip or during a morning of deep cleaning), which may come as a disappointment for fans of Sunflower Bean’s previous work, featuring heavier, more catching rock-based influences.

However, in an album where reflection and healing are the focus, the slower pacing and increased opportunity to sit and release are rather fitting. Additionally, it would simply be a mistake to get lost in the easy listening of Mortal Primetime and ignore its messaging in favor of simply riding along its beats. Being invited to follow Sunflower Bean’s rich, clever songwriting as they convey everything from post rock bottom flippancy and nihilism (I don’t even know I’ve been hit / I’m hit / So push fingers into my eyes / But it doesn’t hurt a bit / When I / When I’m finally dead / Well, I guess that’s just it) to all-consuming and inescapable love (Look what you’ve done to me, look what you’ve done to me / Used to be a bag of flesh and now I’m breathing / Please check if I’m breathing and In the crashing of the waves / I’m being pulled out by the riptide, somehow, I’m not afraid / ‘Cause if I live or if I die, I’ll be haunted just the same / By that terrifying, sick love that’s burned across my brain) to the haunting trauma and unforgettable scars of being in a predatory relationship (There’s a part I can’t get back / You stole it from me / There’s a bag I can’t unpack / It’s always with me / If I die before I wake I pray the lord lets me get even first / I do, I do) is an honor for any who choose engage. 

In sum, Mortal Primetime is a beautiful return for Sunflower Bean, one that well demonstrates how much their musicianship and worldly experience have evolved, alongside their personal development and journeys, and through their continued engagement as a band.