Performing in front of a roaring crowd, feeding off the energy of the audience, and feeling the pulse of the music—it’s an exhilarating experience. But once the stage lights dim, the loneliness of touring can creep in like an unwelcome shadow. That inescapable isolation, the moments between the excitement, is exactly what Sunflower Bean captures in their latest single, "Nothing Romantic."
On Tuesday, the band—comprising vocalist Julia Cumming, guitarist Nick Kivlen, and drummer Olive Faber—debuted the new track, offering a raw and honest take on the emotional toll of life on the road. In a statement, the trio explained, “Nothing Romantic is about rejecting the myth of the tortured artist—realizing that the joys of creativity don’t have to come from the lows of misery.” It’s a powerful message, breaking the long-held belief that suffering is a necessary ingredient for great art.
The accompanying music video, directed by Sophia Feuer and Tyler Macri, adds a haunting visual layer to this theme. Throughout the video, the band finds themselves chased by eerie masked villains, a metaphorical representation of the demons that haunt artists when they step away from the stage. The video seamlessly captures the duality of a musician’s life: the high-energy performances where they’re truly alive and the eerie stillness that follows when the crowd disperses, leaving them alone with their thoughts.
This tension between connection and solitude is something many artists wrestle with, and Sunflower Bean doesn’t shy away from it. “From green rooms to lost highways, we travel from town to town, feeling alive only in the escape of our show,” the band shared. “There’s this strange push and pull—on stage, we’re together, sharing our music with the world. But afterward, that sense of isolation and the price of our sacrifices start creeping in.”
"Nothing Romantic" will be featured on their upcoming album, Mortal Primetime, set to drop on April 25. Fans got their first taste of the album with the lead single "Champagne Taste," and if that was any indication, this new record is shaping up to be a deeply personal and evocative piece of work. The album follows their Shake EP, which they released back in September, and fans have been eagerly anticipating what’s next.
One of the most exciting aspects of Mortal Primetime is its underlying message. Julia Cumming summed it up perfectly when she said, “You get to decide what your prime is, and you fight for it. 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.”
That sentiment alone speaks volumes about the resilience of the band. In an industry that’s constantly evolving, with expectations always shifting, Sunflower Bean is standing their ground, owning their moment, and defining success on their own terms. They aren’t waiting for someone to tell them when they’ve ‘made it’—they’re declaring it themselves, right now.
For longtime fans, this album promises to be a culmination of everything they love about Sunflower Bean—their ability to blend dreamy, ethereal sounds with hard-hitting rock elements, all while keeping their lyrics deeply introspective. But for newcomers, it’s also the perfect introduction to a band that refuses to conform to the industry’s traditional molds.
And really, that’s what makes Mortal Primetime so compelling. It’s not just an album—it’s a statement. A declaration that artists don’t have to be tortured to create something meaningful. That their prime isn’t dictated by charts or trends but by their own belief in themselves. Sunflower Bean is showing that joy, creativity, and resilience can coexist without the need for suffering.
As the countdown to April 25 begins, one thing is certain: Sunflower Bean is stepping into their prime, and they’re bringing their fans along for the ride. Whether you’re blasting "Nothing Romantic" on a solo late-night drive or losing yourself in their electrifying live performances, this is a moment worth experiencing. The band has fought for it, and now, they’re ready to share it with the world.
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