15 - SUNFLOWER BEAN - Headful of Sugar


Sunflower Bean’s fantastic indie rock debut, Human Ceremony, came second on this List in 2016 and still is in occasional rotation for me 6 years on. In contrast, 2018’s disappointing follow up, Twentytwo in Blue, didn’t come anywhere near a List placing: it was all polish and had none of the heart of its predecessor. Album #3 could, therefore, have gone either way. Happily, it’s much closer to their debut in terms of quality, if quite a departure from it sonically. A lot has happened to Sunflower Bean in the last 5 years, with drummer Olive Faber transitioning under a good deal of public scrutiny and singer/bassist Julia Cummings launching a whole other career in fashion and modelling. And, you know, pandemic. Perhaps it’s unsurprising, then, that Headful of Sugar feels like something of a new start. Venturing into synth pop and disco, while also rediscovering the fuzzy guitar hooks that graced Human Ceremony, this is more varied than anything they’ve done before. It’s not as focused as their early stuff but gets points for not always playing it safe. This record is a massive step in the right direction after a ropey sophomore effort, albeit that it still falls short of the high watermark of their debut.