SUNFLOWER BEAN - HEADFUL OF SUGAR
Credit: Driely S
Sunflower Bean’s third studio album Headful of Sugar is a triumphant battle of authenticity to make music for the love of it, as they make an excellent addition to their ever-improving anthology of creative work. This new release offers a fresh taste of the New York trio’s potential that seems to continually exceed the summit of what one might expect to hear from them.
Embracing the power of living every moment to the fullest, vocalist/bassist, Julia Cumming states “Tomorrow is not promised, no tour is promised… Why not make what you want to make on your own terms? Why not make a record that makes you want to dance… that makes you want to scream?” This certainly comes across as Julia, Nick Kivlen (guitarist) and Olive Faber (drummer) provide twists and turns unexpectedly throughout.
Headful of Sugar opens up with slow building track ‘Who Put You Up To This?’. It develops the sounds that will feature later whilst also gradually easing into the pace of a studio album without burning all the creative energy too quickly. As far as opening tracks go, it’s very distinctive and acknowledges a step forward in the song-writing they have developed over the years.
‘Otherside’ is an ethereal transportation to an emotive headspace that leaves a positive warmth, as if taking a deep breath during a stressful period. Its placement in the album feels unusual, like it would lend better positioned somewhere else which would make its impact more lasting. Opening lyrics “Days of darkness fade to night, peering through I can see a crack of light” encapsulates the message of the song; this contrast of hopeful optimism battled against struggle is further emphasised by brooding bass contrasted against the dream-pop tone of the vocals and synth.
‘Roll The Dice’ leans more into the trio’s indie rock sound, with grungy riffs and gritty vocal tones from Nick as it targets the impermanence of being a musician and how fragile it can be as a career pursuit. This reflects the attitude they had going into the record and shows that this album is a result of passion and how much they treasure being able to perform and create music. Which feeds into title track that seems to continue this conversation, navigating the ecstasy and agony of contemporary life. It’s psychedelic vibe gives an audible head-rush sensation that as the chorus and title states, feels like a “…headful of sugar”.
Marking the halfway point, Headful of Sugar destabilises its consistent pattern ironically with ‘I Don’t Have Control Sometimes’ being the catalyst. Its stochastic progression of melodies and Olive Faber’s offbeat rhythm sections encapsulates the idea of spontaneity, breaking up the structure in aid to be less repetitive which alternative indie bands can often fall victim to.
The grooves created in the second act of the album give Sunflower Bean such a rich sound that’s impressive for a trio to impose, heard in ‘Stand By Me’, ‘Baby Don’t Cry’ and ‘Feel Somebody’. This is a result of the excellent bassist-guitar duo from Nick and Julia, who have continually developed their presence from their early work.
‘Post Love’ is a dancey number which pushes the higher end of the emotive spectrum they cover; its driven by pulsing bass and more dream-pop influence that gives it a fun 80’s dance feel you’d expect from the likes of Cyndi Lauper. It’s probably the furthest they’ve pushed out the genre in this way but also feels well within their repertoire and a natural progression of their unique style.
The final two tracks close the album with the heaviest tone featured on this release. ‘Beat The Odds’ is reminiscent of Muse, with similar guitar effects and Nick’s vocals opening up a bit more whilst being more distinctively driven by the rhythm members. ‘Feel Somebody’ aptly captures the rockstar mentality the band deliver when performing live and so makes for a great finale where their recording can fully showcase their loud presence in the scene.
Headful of Sugar is an album that grows on you the more you listen, once you can get your head round all the varied dynamics going on throughout. It is definitely their strongest release so far, and hopefully isn’t the peak of what’s to come from them. The only gripe to be had is that it doesn’t fully capture how incredible they are as musicians and how well crafted some of these songs truly are, which their latest tour highlighted as they debuted a vast majority of this release. However, don’t let this be a reason to give them a miss and more of a reason to listen to the record and then sing your heart out to them on stage at a live performance.
David Barter
★★★★☆