Someone's Always Pressing Record: Here's Sunflower Bean Video for "I Hear Voices"

There's been a lot of chatter about Sunflower Bean over the past year. In truth, half the focus has zeroed in on the young trio's neo-psych, motorik beat blasted pop, and half has been centered around willowy vocalist and bassist Julia Cumming and designer/photographer Hedi Slimane's decision to frequently photograph her for Paris fashion house Saint Laurent. You'd be forgiven for being style-over-substance-sceptical, but if you see the Brooklyn-based band live (good luck fighting your way through the crush to get a decent view), you'll for sure change your tune. The band are tighter than Kim Kardashian's pregnancy wardrobe: their iron-clad grooves, lock in like lego pieces, seamlessly slowing and speeding up to an ear-achingly awesome squall, without so much as a glance or nod exchanged. They're just feeling it.

Below is the video for their latest song, "I Hear Voices" which begins by informing the viewer that the entire video was shot on an iPhone 6. What follows is an eerie compendium of images: cloaked figures lurking, mall rats gawping, smoke bombs in fields of green, and plenty of hydration. Meanwhile, the song exemplifies their slow-fast-sweet-angsty-psych-pop. Flanger pedal poised—let's go!

The band had this to say about the the song and video: "This song is a representation of life in the digital age. It is an example of how everything means nothing and nothing means everything. The making of this video was a meditation on life in 2015! We worked with our friend, artist Kyle Hide and we really like the way he interpreted the song and wanted to collaborate with him on the project." Hide continued: "The song made me think about phones and the role that telecommunications play to make voices touch each other over long distances. I also thought about the paranoia of always being watched and the fear of government surveillance. The video is inspired by YouTube culture and home video making culture in general. I've always made home videos and music videos. My parents were able to afford a video camera in the 90s when they started to become more affordable to the working class."

Sunflower Bean Tour Dates

10/10/15 Boston, MA @ The Sinclair *

10/12/15 Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall *

10/13/15 Madison, WI @ Majestic *

10/14/15 St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club *

10/16/15 Denver, CO @ Gothic Theatre *

10/17/15 Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge *

10/18/15 Boise, ID @ Neurolux *

10/19/15 Seattle, WA @ Neumos *

10/20/15 Vancouver, BC @ Fortune *

10/22/15 San Francisco, CA @ The FIllmore *

10/24/15 Los Angeles, CA @ The Roxy *

10/25/15 Santa Ana, CA @ Beach Goth Festival

10/27/15 San Diego, CA @ Casbah *

10/28/15 Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom *

10/30/15 Dallas, TX @ Trees *

10/31/15 Austin, TX @ Mohawk *

11/1/15 Houston, TX @ Numbers *

11/3/15 Nashville, TV @ Exit / In *

11/4/15 Atlanta, GA @ The Earl *

11/5/15 Chapel Hill, NC @ Cat’s Cradle *

11/6/15 Richmond, VA @ The Broadberry *

11/7/15 Washington, D.C. @ Black Cat *

11/8/15 New York, NY @ Webster Hall *

* with DIIV

Kim Taylor Bennett let off some smoke bombs this weekend. She's on Twitter.