SUNFLOWER BEAN - Mortal Primetime

Three years seem like a lot, when we compare “Mortal Primetime” to the previous “Headful Of Sugar“, a record that had only half-convinced Sunflower Bean's listeners, because while it confirmed the trio's talent and ability, it didn't come across as a truly focused or memorable work. Compared to then, the New York band makes a decisive turn and returns to the scene with a dark new romantic aesthetic and a sound that, at least initially, is grittier, balanced between pop punk, college rock, cabaret and hard rock. At least judging by the first two singles, as well as the photo that accompanied the single covers and that has been confirmed by the album itself.

“Mortal Primetime” starts off strong right away, with “Champagne Taste” (already the first single), guitar riff and drum fills driving it forward. The song is less obvious than it might seem, thanks to the interweaving of voices and hard rock tropes, but above all because within its three minutes it manages to stretch itself out without ever resolving. It's a shame, though, that the solo, even though it arrives past the point of no return, ends abruptly, with no real logical or artistic reason, other than sticking to the genre's average three-minute runtime. The following “Nothing Romantic” edges closer to a ballad, at least in the verse, at times dreamlike thanks to the high notes reached by Julia Cumming's voice; and a full-on hard rock ballad is the next track, “Waiting For The Rain”, with guitarist Nick Kivlen on vocals.

The mood turns more relaxed with “Look What You Did To Me”, which draws on the band's earlier forays into indie pop. With “I Knew Her” and “Shooting Star” the album arrives at a folk sound close to Waxahatchee's “Saint Cloud” era, and one wonders whether the impression of a rock turn was just a mirage caused by the two lead singles, both unusually placed at the start of the album. Even the third single, halfway through the second half, “There’s A Part I Can’t Get Back”, is a ballad with folk undertones and a suspended chorus. Adding further variety are the acoustic “Please Rewind”, somewhere between Sufjan Stevens and Simon & Garfunkel, and the closing track, “Sunshine”, dark and shoegaze.

The New York band once again proves it can play, and, as we've seen, is willing to range across different genres; but the variety is a bit too much for a total runtime of 35 minutes, and the result feels rather disjointed, not fully developed or realized. Even the choice to self-produce, backed by Caesar Edmunds (Wet Leg, among his most recent gigs) and Sarah Tudzin (boygenius), hasn't helped pin down the project's direction. Or maybe that's just the measure of this band: technically skilled, ranging across genres and styles without much else behind it.

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19/05/2025