This week’s ANCHR Artist of the Week goes to Sunflower Bean— a trio from NYC consisting of vocalist and bassist Julia Cumming (she/her), guitarist and vocalist Nick Kivlen (he/him), and drummer Olive Faber (she/they).

Sunflower Bean is one of those bands that seem like they were born in the wrong era because they have such an authentic and effortlessly classic sound, but I guess someone’s got to keep rock and roll alive for the next generation! Earlier this month, the band released their third album, entitled Headful of Sugar, as a follow up to 2018’s Twentytwo in Blue. The new album name acts as a metaphor for the constant consumerism, exposure to news and attachment to devices that runs through society— and the band says the album is for those outsiders who are disillusioned with the modern world. “We wanted to write about the lived experience of late capitalism, how it feels everyday, the mundanity of not knowing where every construct is supposed to ultimately lead you,” Nick Kivlen says. “The message is in the title: this is about fast pleasures, the sugar of life, the joy that comes with letting go of everything you thought mattered.”

Sunflower Bean teased the new record with several singles that showcased their versatility— for example, “Roll The Dice” features an enticing, slow fade in that leads to fuzzed-out guitar riffs and layered echoes of Kivlen’s and Cumming’s vocals, while “I Don’t Have Control Sometimes” kicks off with peppy vocalizations from Cumming and a punchy pop drumbeat. Talking about the latter song, Cumming says, “I’ve always thought that my reckless side was both a gift and a curse, leading me to my best choices on stage but my worst choices in life. I don’t have control sometimes is the admission, acceptance, and almost celebration of the parts of yourself that are impulsive or maybe even insane.” While this song is the band’s admission and acceptance of relinquishing control, they claimed full creative control with the making of Headful of Sugar— Olive Faber took on the role of engineering for the first time, and the recording was mostly done at home. “We didn’t have to rely on anyone outside of the band and our producer, Jake Portrait, to get Headful of Sugar made,” Faber says. “Self-sufficiency helped us tell the story we wanted to tell.” 

To celebrate the new music, Sunflower Bean is currently on tour, including a stop in Chicago at The Bottom Lounge on Friday, May 20th. See all of their tour dates here, and watch the video for “I Don’t Have Control Sometimes” below.