The rock’n’roll cycle spins its way back to the halcyon days of 2010 on Sunflower Bean’s debut. Everything from the group’s “Brooklyn-based” background, to the phrases “DIY” and “hotly tipped” that often suffix their name seem to have spawned from a blogpost from six years ago, while much of their debut is influenced by Pitchfork’s recent relics – Diiv, MGMT, Tame Impala, Real Estate and the label Captured Tracks. This is not a lazily retrogressive record however: its melodies burst with the fidgety energy of youth and ambition. While the group cite existential topics such as “God and space” as lyrical themes, at its core Human Ceremony quakes with the hunger and excitement of three twentysomethings embarking on an adventure, in and out of bars, on and off of stage. Best of all is the lightness and nuance to Julia Cumming’s vocals – a quality that adds more texture and emotion than the disheveled indie nonchalance of their predecessors.
