Interview With Sunflower Bean

Hailed as one of the hardest working bands in the business, New York trio Sunflower Bean are a bunch who are really blooming right now, creatively and commercially. After releasing one of the best albums of 2018 in their stunning second LP, Twentytwo In Blue, they then spent the majority of the year on their tour bus.

It comes as no shock to learn that 2019 is shaping up to be another hectic one, as they prepare to unveil new EP King Of The Dudes, a mere 10 months after the release of their aforementioned opus. However, when Hot Press catches up with co-singer/guitarist Nick Kivlen, he does surprise us when he says that he’s currently enjoying that rarest of luxuries – some time off.

“I feel a little bit guilty about having time off,” he says, “because I’m so used to being on the road and having a destination to get to or a goal to achieve. Waking up and having the entire day to just do whatever the hell you want is intimidating! It’s definitely been really nice as well though.”

Formed in 2013, when Nick, bassist/co-singer Julia Cumming and drummer Jacob Faber all met at North Shore High School and bonded over a love of The Smiths and Black Sabbath, Sunflower Bean are a band who rarely sit still. Their rapid musical evolution has been nothing short of staggering over the last four years. First, they unleashed feral fusions of psych, stoner-rock and indie on debut EP Show Me Your Seven Secrets; then spliced metal, alternative and goth-y post-punk on Human Ceremony; and last year on Twentytwo In Blue, they embraced British glam and ‘70s American pop. King Of The Dudes continues their progression – it’s a loud and proud collection of classic rock songs with contemporary lyrics.

“This new EP is the most rocking thing we’ve done,” he asserts. “There’s isn’t really a ballad on there; it’s energetic and urgent and great to sing along to.

“We’re excited it’s coming out, especially on vinyl,” he adds. “We’re not purists or anything, but there’s definitely something special about collecting vinyl. It’s like having a great library of books. When someone comes over they can look through your vinyl collection and you can share music that way. It’s more personal than looking something up and streaming it.”

By the time you read this, Sunflower Bean will be out on the road again, this time rejoining tour-mates Interpol for another string of dates. Nick tells us he’s learned a lot from the legendary New Yorkers.

“Interpol have an amazing work ethic. They’re serious about their art, they’re extremely dedicated and they’re an inspiration. Another band we’ve learned a lot from is Wolf Alice. We met them early in their career and to watch them grow and become arena-sized has been wonderful. They’re still the same people and absolutely lovely.”

Some are expecting King Of The Dudes to elevate Sunflower Bean to indie royalty, but are Nick and his band of self-confessed misfits happy to be a part of the mainstream?

“We started out playing all these New York clubs to a handful of people,” he replies, “and we’ve seen a real progression, through working hard. We’ve had success incrementally and that’s been really rewarding. I would never say I want any limit on the potential of where our band could be, but also, you don’t want to wish for something and have it be a curse, you know? I can’t really say what our final aspiration is. Do we want to reach stadium size? I’m not sure, but we’re gonna keep trying to make the best music we can, and hopefully we’ll find a large enough audience to continue. The most important thing to us right now is connecting with the audience.”

King Of The Dudes is out now via Lucky Number.