LIVE FROM THE PIT: Sunflower Bean and Ain’t

Quite literally overnight, SUNFLOWER BEAN went from performing for a sold-out O2 arena back underground to headline London’s Downstairs at the Dome. This switch does not signify their drastic failure, but in fact the opposite: the Brooklyn trio has gone international, with none other than WOLF ALICE taking them under their wing for their European tour. Tonight, SUNFLOWER BEAN are joined by another rising talent AIN’T, together perfecting a sweet blend of energetic alt-rock and eerie slow ballads.

Floating around the venue just seconds ago, AIN’T are unbothered, as if they are mere viewers and not about to perform the most hypnotic ritual. Landing onstage, this flock of birds is just starting to spread their wings — and that is not a metaphor, as the vocalist HANNAH is drawing all sorts of arm movements in the air to accompany her performance. The energy is raw and gripping from the first note, with all focus being grabbed by the singer while she is alternating between soft vocals and howls in Jude. Although the crowd is still standing scarcely, it allows space for the flowy instrumentals to neatly fill those gaps in.

Penultimate Church Song goes into a slower and more fragile but mesmerising territory, standing out from the rest and making us wish it was not yet unreleased. The lighting throughout the whole set deserves its own separate praise, it fits seamlessly into the atmosphere and truly refines the performance. Keeping up the Swan Lake ballet dance rendition, AIN’T lead into Pirouette, a song perfectly named for the occasion. “My sister is in the audience, she knows exactly who this last song is about and we both hate that person” — announces HANNAH with a smile, before coming back into character with a completely empty stare into the void and a cathartic spoken monologue to end it on.

WOLF ALICE obviously knows how to choose a support act; but more importantly, the act itself knows how to light up any stage, no matter how small or gigantic. Right away, SUNFLOWER BEAN go all in with the hits from their recent releases Mortal Primetime and Shake. JULIA CUMMING offers quite a polar opposite to the previous performance, as she simply cannot stop smiling and headbanging. The sky-high energy is pouring out non-stop, which begs the question, how do they even still contain it after so much touring? 

An answer follows suit: “I drank a lot of redbull, and I just want to keep going”. JULIA is not lying, moving straight onto Easier Said — possibly the crowd-favourite, accompanied by a hundred arms outstretched and a loud singalong. And still, SUNFLOWER BEAN got more tricks up their sleeve, as the next song invites the singer to be the star on the dancefloor herself, lying down on her back to play the bass outro of Somebody Call a Doctor. After seven songs, the band finally decides to give everyone a breather with the tender ballad I Knew Love, gearing up for another half hour of cheers and screams.

Towards the end of the night, SUNFLOWER BEAN put out another reminder that for those who made it to their one-off headline date there is a bag of special treats prepared. As such, the band play live debuts of a couple of tracks from their newly released deluxe album, and those are received with no less excitement than usual. Long-awaited Nothing Romantic comes on with the iconic bassline vibrating through the veins, before the band abruptly heads offstage. The audience does not let them go, with some of the loudest ovations and chants begging to play “one more song” — there is no choice but to obey, and Shake seems to be the elected favourite. Both in their support and headline sets, SUNFLOWER BEAN continue to prove their worth to the whole world, first in their homeland and now here, across the pond, and it is no doubt the only way from here is up.

Words and photos: Mariia Bulkina