Rock band Sunflower Bean return with fourth album Mortal Primetime set for release on 25 April via Lucky Number. In the three years since their last LP Headful of Sugar, the members of Sunflower Bean drifted from one another as they pursued new projects and confronted personal challenges, tragedies and transformations. But Mortal Primetime, the first self-produced album, finds Sunflower Bean with a renewed sense of purpose after nearly losing everything they built together.
“You get to decide what your prime is, and you fight for it,” bassist and vocalist Julia Cumming says. “This is ours, and that can’t be taken away by circumstance. We can’t take it away from each other. This moment, where we are now, is what we’ve always fought for.”
With mixing by Caesar Edmunds (The Killers, Wet Leg) and engineering by Sarah Tudzin (Illuminati Hotties, Boygenius), Sunflower Bean were inspired by alternative rock, dreamy psychedelia, and arena-sized ambition. The first single from Mortal Primetime is ‘Champagne Taste’ a fuzzed-out anthem of reckless determination. A nod to Sunflower Bean’s long-time alias when performing secret shows to test out new material, ‘Champagne Taste’ features feral guitar riffs, soaring power chords and vocals that find Cumming channeling Iggy Pop circa The Idiot. The band explains:
“This song came after a period that felt like rock bottom for the band. It is about feeling beaten down but still driving forward, to keep faith, to grow and to continue to create on our own terms, our Mortal Primetime.”
The band have also announced a massive North American tour alongside their support slots for Cage The Elephant, Laveda and Gift.
Sunflower Bean Tour Dates
February
13 – Glasgow, UK @ O2 Academy Glasgow ^
14 – Manchester, UK @ O2 Apollo ^
16 – Wolverhampton, UK @ Uni of Wolverhampton at The Civic Hall ^
17 – London, UK @ O2 Academy Brixton ^
18 – London, UK @ O2 Academy Brixton ^
20 – Cologne, DE @ Palladium ^
21 – Berlin, DE @ Columbiahalle ^
23 – Amsterdam, NL @ AFAS Live ^
24 – Brussels, BE @ Ancienne Belgique ^
26 – Paris, FR @ Zenith ^
27 – London, UK @ George Tavern
March
10 – 15 – Austin, TX @ SXSW
May
15 – Troy, NY @ No Fun
16 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brendas *
17 – Boston, MA @ Deep Cuts *
22 – Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw #
23 – Washington, DC @ The Atlantis #
24 – Raleigh, NC @ Kings #
25 – Asheville, NC @ Eulogy #
27 – Nashville, TN @ Third Man Records #
28 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl #
30 – Denton, TX @ Rubber Gloves #
31 – Austin, TX @ The Ballroom #
June
1 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Upstairs #
4 – Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar #
5 – San Diego, CA @ The Casbah #
6 – Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room #
7 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel #
9 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios #
10 – Seattle, WA @ Madame Lou’s #
12 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
13 – Fort Collins, CO @ The Coast #
14 – Denver, CO @ Hi-Dive
17 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th St. Entry #
19 – Chicago, IL @ Sleeping Village #
20 – Detroit, MI @ Third Man Records
21 – Toronto, ON @ The Garrison
^ with Cage The Elephant
* with Laveda
# with Gift
For more information on Sunflower Bean please check their facebook and instagram.