Welcome to the weekend, dear readers! I have a few chores to run today and when that is done it’ll be time for some much-needed relaxation and decompressing with my lovely partner.
Before any chores, however, we must honour the hierarchy of needs, CD Odyssey style. It’s similar to Maslow’s but music comes first and so…a review before brunch.
Disc 1943 is…Mortal Primetime
Artist: Sunflower Bean
Year of Release: 2025
What’s up with the Cover? Just another night hanging out with Sunflower Bean playing Vampire: Masquerade. And if every few months someone doesn’t come home from a session, who’s to question it?
Lead singer Julia Cumming has gone from blonde to black hair for her deep dive into Gothic mystery. Regardless of hair colour, sign me up for the next gaming session. Leave my phone at home and don’t tell anyone where I am? Whatever you say, Julia!
How I Came To Know It: I have been a fan since discovering this band through their second album, “Twentytwo in Blue” and have been following their career ever since. “Mortal Primetime” is just me doing that.
How It Stacks Up: I have three Sunflower Bean records. I was very much prepared to give “Mortal Primetime” top spot but I see I scored “Twentytwo in Blue” at 4/5. Although it’s close, I’m going to honour that decision of yesteryear. That puts “Mortal Primetime” at #2, but still easily displacing the relatively disappointing “Headful of Sugar”.
Here’s the full recap in case you are inspired to a deeper dive:
- Twentytwo in Blue: 4
stars (reviewed at Disc 1230)
- Mortal Primetime: 3 stars (reviewed right here)
- Headful of Sugar: 3 stars (reviewed at Disc 1605)
Ratings: 3 stars but almost 4
“Mortal Primetime” is a record that straddles the line between mainstream pop and indie rock. These are two well-worn roads, and while Sunflower Bean don’t take any major chances, the record shows a band that has evolved their influences into something that belongs intrinsically to them.
Like all Sunflower Bean records, “Mortal Primetime” rides on the under-appreciated star power of lead singer Julia Cumming. Cumming has charisma to spare, and it translates into her singing voice, which is confident, emotive, and sweet with just the right amount of mist around the edges to give the record the Gothic feel it is going for.
Take note, however: if you are expecting Gothic at the Evanescence or Type O Negative, please lower your expectations and put the black lipstick away. This is more Gothic lite, with the twee observations and pop sensibilities of Rilo Kiley, mixed with the pale and wan undercurrent of an Emily Bronte novel.
Also like a Rilo Kiley album, there are a couple of songs where Julia takes a step back for a secondary singer – in this case guitarist Nick Kivlen. Like a Blake Sennett song on a Rilo Kiley album makes you pine for Jenny Lewis, when Kivlen came on I found myself immediately fidgeting while I waited for Cumming’s return. One of Kivlen’s songs – “Please Rewind” – is particularly saccharine. That phrase should be buried alongside all the VHS tapes from Blockbuster.
Fortunately, Cumming more than compensates, delivering her best vocal performance to date. The record’s opener, “Champagne Taste” has a fist-pumping anthem quality to it, and Cumming is flirty but tough in her vocal delivery. Kivlen’s guitars on this song are also top-notch (more on this later).
The band then shows their stylistic range on “Nothing Romantic”. Here Cumming’s voice is sweet, light and tinged with sadness as she sings the chorus of:
“There’s nothing romantic in being alone
I don’t wanna be the last lonely soul
Sitting at the bar drinking alone
Waiting for God to take me home”
I heard heavy overtones of Jarmusch’s 2013 vampire movie, “Only Lovers Left Alive”. Maybe that’s just me getting influenced by the cover, but that was my connection. Yours may be more mundane or personal such as a heartbreak of the more human kind (the album’s title is “Mortal Primetime”, after all). Whatever your reaction, Cumming’s evocative vocals express a human (or inhuman) longing that will get into your bloodstream.
And despite the shade I earlier threw on some of the Kivlen vocals, he is a talented guitar player with a lot of range. He can drop a rock-ready riff, a pop trill that tucks in as a perfect partner to Cumming’s vocals, and even bluesy tones when that’s needed. On “There’s a Part I Can’t Get Back” Kivlen is at his best, dropping some tones on the axe that are downright Buck Dharma adjacent. Long time readers will know this is high praise.
Overall, “Mortal Primetime” is a record that shows positive growth for the band, and a deeper understanding of what kind of music they want to make. It has less full-on pop bangers than “Twentytwo in Blue” but is arguably the more well-rounded record. A true return to form from a band that looks like they have plenty of creative juice left in the tank.
Best tracks: Champagne Taste, Nothing Romantic, I Knew Love, Take Out Your Insides, There’s a Part I Can’t Get Back
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