13th Floor New Song Of The Day: Sunflower Bean – Crisis Fest

Brooklyn-based trio, Sunflower Bean, return with a new song, Crisis Fest, taken from their upcoming album, Twentytwo In Blue.

The band’s second album is due out on March 23rd and was co-produced by Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s Jacob Portait.

Here’s the record company blurb:

New York trio Sunflower Bean announce their sophomore record Twentytwo In Blue.
The album will be released on 23 March – when all members of the band will be 22 years old – and comes almost two years and two months after the release of their critically acclaimed 2016 debut album Human Ceremony.
Early praise for Twentytwo In Blue:

“Spirited interpreters of rock ’n’ roll’s eternal truths, the three early-20s New Yorkers who make up Sunflower Bean are equally adept at studio finesse (witness their recent single ‘I Was a Fool’) and raucous live noise.” – New York Times

“On ‘I Was a Fool,’ the band clears away some of the psych-rock haze that clouded their prior work, allowing the trebly guitar licks, bouncy bass lines, and especially Cumming’s voice to shine… [The band’s] chemistry remains on full display.” – Pitchfork

“It’s nice to hear they haven’t lost one ounce of their cool.” – NYLON
Co-produced by Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s Jacob Portrait (who also mixed the record) and Human Ceremony producer Matt Molnar of Friends, Twentytwo In Blue shows Sunflower Bean staying true to their guitar band core and classic rock-inspired roots, while exploring new sonic textures with more direct and progressive themes. While their debut was essentially a compilation of songs Sunflower Bean wrote while still in their teens, Twentytwo In Blue showcases how far the band has come since playing together in their high school days.

To celebrate the album announcement, Sunflower Bean share a new single entitled ‘Crisis Fest.’ “2017—we know / Reality’s one big sick show / Every day’s a crisis fest,” vocalist and bassist Julia Cumming sings. “This last year was extremely alarming, traumatic, and politically volatile,” explains the band about the track. “While writing this album, we often reflected back on the people we met while on tour. We felt a strong kinship with the audiences that came to see us all over the country, and we wanted to write a song for them – something to capture the anxieties of an uncertain future. ‘Crisis Fest’ is less about politics and more about the power of us, the young people in this country.” Listen to ‘Crisis Fest’ here and watch the Andy DeLuca-directed music video exclusively on Apple Music.

There’s a new directness to these songs on Twentytwo In Blue, a product of the band’s growth and the insanity of the times we’re in. Sunflower Bean have gained a newly confident voice that they bring to the second album, one that doesn’t shy away from addressing the other events of those two years—political changes and cultural shifts that have left America and the world stupefied. “This has been such an unbelievable time,” says Kivlen. “I can’t imagine any artist of our ilk making a record and not have it be seen through the lens of the political climate of 2016 and 2017. So I think there’s a few songs on the record that are definitely heavily influenced by this sort of—whatever you want to say what the Trump administration has been.” “A shit show,” offers a helpful Faber.

Ultimately, this record is much more than a political statement or piece of commentary on today’s political climate. “I think one word that always comes to mind when I think about this record is lovable,” says Cumming. “We want the songs to be something that someone can get attached to, and have be a part of them. Because that’s what I look for in songs myself, and that’s the kind of experience we want to give to others.”

Twentytwo In Blue tracklist:

1. Burn It
2. I Was A Fool
3. Twentytwo
4. Crisis Fest
5. Memoria
6. Puppet Strings
7. Only A Moment
8. Human For
9. Any Way You Like
10. Sinking Sands
11. Oh No, Bye Bye

Twentytwo In Blue Album
Sunflower Bean
Out 23 March through Mom+Pop/
Liberator Music
Pre-order here