Sunflower Bean | photo by Andy DeLuca | courtesy of the artist
XPN’s Gotta Hear Song of the Week: “I Was A Fool” by Sunflower Bean
You might remember New York City psych rock power trio Sunflower Bean from a killer performance at Non-COMM 2016, delivered on the heels of their Fat Possum Records debut Human Ceremony. The band drew on Sabbath and the Stooges, Brian Jonestown Massacre and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and had a formidable live presence to boot; not only did bassist / vocalist Julia Cumming, drummer Jacob Faber, and guitarist Nick Kivlen get lost in the proverbial zone, they took the eager audience along for the ride.
Flash forward a year and a half, and the band is resurfacing from a seemingly constant tour schedule to deliver the first taste of their next phase. The song “I Was A Fool” premiered on NPR Music last week, and with it came the announcement that Sunflower Bean has joined the Mom + Pop Records family — home to Courtney Barnett, Tash Sultana, DMAs and more. The new song shows a progression in their sound — the sound eases up on heavy drone, making room for ethereal pop. Jangling guitars and trade-off vocals from Cumming and Kivlen are reminiscent of Fleetwood Mac and Todd Rundgren, as filtered through Kurt Vile and Rilo Kiley.
It’s a remarkably catchy three minutes and 41 seconds, though its also wrapped in melancholy, and the band told NPR that it wanted “to capture the heart-sickening dizziness of all-consuming love. ‘It’s confusing,’ [Cumming] says, ‘that’s the point.'”
Watch the music video for “I Was A Fool” below. The band plays an all-ages show at Everybody Hits on Friday, January 26th; tickets and more information on the concert can be found here.