Music Discovery: Sunflower Bean

If you’ve been sleeping on Brooklyn-based, Long Island-bred indie rockers Sunflower Bean, it’s time to open the shades and wake up. The trio have had labels clamoring for them since their 2015 SXSW appearance (Fat Possum Records ultimately sealed the deal), and a year later momentum doesn’t show any signs of slowing.

The band, who got its start gigging around New York City at venues, released its debut full-length album Human Ceremony last month to critical acclaim.

In celebration, they stopped by the SiriusXM studios in New York for an in-studio performance which airs on SiriusXMU (Ch. 35) Wednesday 3/30 at 9 pm ET; Thursday 3/31 at 3 am and 4 pm ET; Friday 4/1 at 9 am ET; and Sunday 4/3 at 12 pm ET; as well as On Demand after the first airing.

Get to know one of the year’s buzziest bands before they get too big!

Members: Julia Cumming (vox/bass), Nick Kivlen (vox/guitar), and Jacob Faber (drums)

Discography: Rock & Roll Heathen (EP, 2014); Show Me Your Seven Secrets (EP, 2015); I Hear Voices (EP, 2015); Human Ceremony (LP, 2016)

Formation: The band — who started off as high school friends on Long Island — formed after graduation in August 2013

Sound: Self-proclaimed as “rock-‘n’-roll for the digital age,” the band’s sound has been described as psychedelic, spacy, ephemeral, lo-fi, dark, drowsy, hazy, fierce, charismatic, sultry, hypnotic, primal, DIY, angsty, dreamy and mythic, among other adjectives.

Influences:  Led Zeppelin, The Velvet Underground, Pink Floyd, Mortal Orchestra, Black Sabbath, and The Strokes

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Fun Facts:

 

1) The band played more than 100 shows before hitting the recording studio

2) They had a short-lived doom-metal phase

3) They still practice in Farber’s basement on Long Island

4) Cummings is also a model, having appeared in shoots for Yves Saint Laurent and more.

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Essential Tracks:

Well Watcher

Easier Said

Life’s A Gas (T. Rex Cover)

See Them Live:

3/29 – Seattle, WA @ The Vera Project
3/30 – Vancouver, BC @ The Cobalt
3/31 – Portland, OR @ Analog Café Lounge
4/1 – Nampa, ID @ Flying M
4/2 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
4/3 – Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge
4/5 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
4/6 – Madison, WI @ The Frequency
4/7 – Bloomington, IN @ The Bishop
4/8 – Columbus, OH @ Rumba Café
4/9 – Pittsburg, PA @ The Smiling Moose: Upstairs
4/14 – Baltimore, MD @ Metro Gallery
4/15-16 – Winston-Salem, NC @ Phuzz Phest
4/20 – Stony Brook, NY @ Stony Brook University: University Café
5/5 – Brooklyn, NY @ The Grid
5/17 – Lancaster, PA @ Lizard Lounge
6/11 – Louisville, KY @ Zanzabar

Follow Sunflower Bean: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Tumblr

For a free 30-day trial, check out http://www.siriusxm.com/freeTrial.