Sunflower Bean – “Easier Said” (Stereogum Premiere)
In a haze of distorted guitars and psych-rock come Sunflower Bean, the Brooklyn trio who make wonderful, reverb-soaked music about things they are too young to even romanticize. All three members of the band are under 21, and yet they sing with the wistfulness of souls that are decades beyond their years. Sunflower Bean take a Velvet Underground-inspired foundation and mutate it for their own use and creation. Namely, they chronicle the melancholy aches of reaching post-adolescence, perfectly encapsulating the soreness of your 20-nothing years in a flurry of dusky shoegaze.
After a year that has seen them bursting onto the New York DIY scene and supporting the likes of DIIV, Wolf Alice, and the Vaccines on tour, the band is gearing up to release debut album Human Ceremony, recorded in an impressive seven days in Brooklyn with producer Matt Molnar (Friends). Latest single “Easier Said” is a mist of dream-pop and sparkly garage dissonance. The track builds and builds, exploding when it reaches the chorus. “It’s easier said than done,” bassist Julia Cumming sings, her vocals bordering on the fringe of falsetto. It sparkles and glitters, only a fleeting glimpse of a very promising record. Listen below.
A note from the band:
“Easier Said” is a song about a couple of things – us and the people around us getting older, and the repetitions and circles that we find ourselves in. Things that are easier to feel and harder to describe.
Sunflower Bean have also announced a new round of tour dates:
02/02 Bristol, UK @ Louisiana
02/03 Birmingham, UK @ Hare & Hounds
02/06 Paris, FR @ Le Pop Up Du Label
02/08 Copenhagen, DK @ Ideal Bar
02/09 Berlin, GR @ Berghain Kantine
02/10 Hamburg, GR @ Molotov Bar
02/12 Brussels, BE @ Botanique
02/13 Lille, GR @ LA Peniche
02/15 Edinburgh, UK @ Sneaky Pete’s
02/16 Manchester, UK @ Soup Kitchen
02/18 London, UK @ The Dome
02/19 Brighton, UK @ Bleach
02/25 New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
02/26 Hanover, NH @ Bones Gate Fraternity +
02/27 Cambridge, MA @ Middle East Club Upstairs
02/28 Montreal, QC @ Quasi Des Brumes
03/01 Toronto, ON @ Smiling Buddha
03/02 Detroit, MI @ Majestic Café +
03/03 Chicago, IL @ Schubas Tavern +
03/04 Lakewood, OH @ Mahall’s 20 Lanes +
03/05 Rochester, NY @ Lovin’ Cup +
03/06 Philadelphia, PA @ Kung Fu Necktie +
03/10 Washington D.C. @ Black Cat *
03/11 Durham, NC @ The Pinhook
03/15-20 Austin, TX @ SXSW 2016
03/24 Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo
03/25 La Jolla, CA @ Che Café
03/26 Santa Cruz, CA @ The Crepe Place
03/27 San Francisco, CA @ Brick & Mortar Music Hall
03/29 Seattle, WA @ The Vera Project
03/30 Vancouver, BC @ The Cobalt
03/31 Portland, OR @ Analog Café Lounge
04/01 Nampa, ID @ Flying M
04/02 Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
04/03 Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge
04/05 Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
04/06 Madison, WI @ The Frequency
04/07 Bloomington, IN @ The Bishop
04/08 Columbus, OH @ Rumba Café
04/09 Pittsburg, PA @ The Smiling Moose; Upstairs
* w/ Mass Gothic
+ w/ Honduras
Human Ceremony tracklist:
01 “Human Ceremony”
02 “Come On”
03 “2013”
04 “Easier Said”
05 “This Kind of Feeling”
06 “I Was Home”
07 “Creation Myth”
08 “Wall Watcher”
09 “I Want You To Give Me Enough Time”
10 “Oh, I Just Don’t Know”
11 “Space Exploration Disaster”
Human Ceremony will be out 2/5 on Fat Possum. Pre-order it from the label or iTunes.