Sunflower Bean - Human Ceremony (2016)

Drawing inspiration from a vast pool of influences such as Black Sabbath and The Cure, Sunflower Bean refine their sound and take it to the next level on Human Ceremony. It is a crystalline, bright, sparkling record, tipping its cap to the likes of The Vaselines, The Velvet Underground, The Feelies, and more, loaded with an innate artfulness that belies the band's young age: all three members are under 21. Written in drummer Jacob Faber's basement in Long Island - where the band got its start back in high school - and recorded in Brooklyn with producer Matt Molnar (Friends), Human Ceremony's 11 tracks came together in just seven days. Having leapt out of the gate as a formidable live band, Sunflower Bean's incomparable stage energy settles perfectly into the grooves of its finely crafted debut album. From the cascading guitar riffs in album opener "Human Ceremony," to the surging "Come On," to Cumming's gliding, sky-high harmonies on "Easier Said" and more, on Human Ceremony, Sunflower Bean's spell is cast. The result is one of the best debuts you will hear in 2016.