New York trio Sunflower Bean will release their sophomore record in a few weeks, and they’ve shared an incredible, pageant-themed music video for their latest single Twentytwo, a song with a powerful and enduring message about resilience and pushing back against expectations. Director Olivia Bee explains: “I loved metaphorically speaking about the reality of being a woman, but letting that reality exist whilst tapping into the magical blues of ‘Twentytwo in Blue’. This song showcases our strengths and individual beauties when we remove the masks that have been given to us by our society, and I wanted the video to reflect that.”
The Twentytwo music video was produced with Urban Outfitters, and features outfits by the retailer. In addition to the music video, UO is excited to include Sunflower Bean as a headliner for their SXSW showcase in Austin on 3/16 (full line-up here.) Watch the music video via YouTube below.
Last weekend, Sunflower Bean performed as the house band at the Film Independent Spirit Awards on IFC. Watch a clip of their performance of Crisis Fest here.
Sunflower Bean will release ‘Twentytwo in Blue’ on March 23rd – 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. Co-produced by Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s Jacob Portrait (who also mixed the record) and HC-producer Matt Molnar of Friends, Twentytwo in Blue shows Sunflower Bean stay true to their guitar band core and classic rock-inspired roots, while exploring new sonic textures with more direct and progressive themes. Unlike their debut, which was essentially a compilation of songs Sunflower Bean wrote while still in their teens, Twentytwo in Blue was made in the year between December 2016 and December 2017 and showcases how far the band has come since playing together in their high school days. Pre-order ‘Twentytwo in Blue’ here, here or here.
Sunflower Bean find a sublime maturity and progression to their sound and songwriting on ‘Twentytwo in Blue’. If there was a ragged beauty in the gauzy, groovy wall of sound of Human Ceremony and its predecessor, the 2015 EP ‘Show Me Your Seven Secrets,’ there’s a new directness to these songs, 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.”
Sunflower Bean are taking ‘Twentytwo in Blue’ on the road this year with tour dates throughout the U.S., E.U., and U.K. See below to find a show near you, including a hometown show at Bowery Ballroom in NYC on April 26th where they will perform the new album in its entirety. Get your tickets HERE.
Tour dates
3/12-18/18 – Austin, TX @ SXSW
3/24 – Nottingham, UK @ Rescue Rooms %
3/26 – Norwich, UK @ Open Norwich %
3/27 – Birmingham, UK @ Hare and Hounds %
3/28 – Newcastle upon Tyne, UK @ Riverside %
3/29 – Leeds, UK @ Wardrobe %
3/30 – Manchester, UK @ Gorilla %
3/31 – Liverpool, UK @ Substation at Invisible Wind Factory %
4/01 – Glasgow, UK @ Stereo %
4/03 – Bristol, UK @ Thekla %
4/05 – Brighton, UK @ Concorde 2 %
4/06 – London, UK @ Koko %
4/09 – Paris, FR @ Point Ephemere
4/10 – Antwerp, Belgium @ TRIX VZW
4/11 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Paradiso
4/12 – Hamburg, Germany @ Molotow
4/13 – Copenhagen, Denmark @ Loppen
4/14 – Berlin, Germany @ Rosis
4/15 – Vienna, Austria @ Chelsea Club
4/17 – Lausanne, Switzerland @ Le Romandie
4/18 – Zurich, Switzerland @ Bogen F
4/19 – Cologne, Germany @ Blue Shell
4/26 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
5/2 – Hamden, CT @ The Ballroom at The Outer Space ^
5/3 – Cambridge, MA @ Sonia ^
5/4 – Montreal, QC @ Petit Campus ^
5/5 – Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern ^
5/6 – Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk Place ^
5/8 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Tavern ^
5/9 – Pontiac, MI @ The Pike Room at the Crofoot ^
5/11 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall ^
5/12 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Founders Brewing Co ^
5/13 – Millvale, PA @ The Funhouse at Mr. Smalls ^
5/20 – Gulf Shores, AL @ The Hangout Music Festival
5/31 – Nelsonville, OH @ Nelsonville Music Festival
6/1 – Baltimore, MD @ Metro Gallery *
6/2 – Washington, D.C. @ Rock & Roll Hotel *
6/3 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle – Back Room *
6/5 – Charlotte, NC @ Snug Harbor *
6/6 – Atlanta, GA @ Aisle 5 *
6/8 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall: Upstairs #
6/10 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada #
6/12 – Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar #
6/13 – La Jolla, CA @ Che Cafe #
6/14 – Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room #
6/19 – Vancouver, BC @ The Fox Cabaret &
6/20 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile &
6/25 – Omaha, NE @ Reverb +
6/26 – Kansas City, MO @ recordBar +
6/27 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry +
6/30 – Indianapolis, IN @ Hoosier Dome +
7/1 – Nashville, TN @ 3rd and Lindsley
% – with support from Sorry
^ – with support from Dream Wife
* – with support from The Nude Party
# – with support from Jesse Jo Stark
& – with support from The Paranoyds
+ – with support from Public Access TV
