Human Ceremony

Sunflower Bean - Human Ceremony
Critic Score
Based on 22 reviews
2016 Ratings: #451 / 1004
User Score
Based on 91 ratings
2016 Rank: #364
Liked by 5 people
February 5, 2016 / Release Date
LP / Format
Fat Possum / Label
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CRITIC REVIEWS

80
Rolling Stone

Human Ceremony is a very impressive record for a band that's only been putting out music for about a year.

80
The Guardian

This is not a lazily retrogressive record however: its melodies burst with the fidgety energy of youth and ambition.

80
The Line of Best Fit

It’s unashamedly retro in parts, but feels fresh enough to sound like a modern take on the Nuggets compilations.

80
No Ripcord

Human Ceremony is an instinctive record, with the band more than happy to act on an impulse. The enthusiasm of the band is infectious, always remaining grounded but delightfully exploring their own infinite limitations.

80
NME
On debut album ‘Human Ceremony’, they fuse Led Zeppelin’s raunchy riffs with the blissful mid-’80s indie of Felt, the best bits of ’80s alt-pop (The Cure) and krautrock (Neu!) and, in front-duo Julia Cumming and Nick Kivlen, have the kind of boy-girl chemistry last seen in the White Stripes.
80
AllMusic

Human Ceremony is an impressive debut from a band who seem positioned to make many more excellent albums if they can continue to do such a good job of mining the past for gold and revamping it in their own fashion like they do so well here.

75
Consequence of Sound

A psych pop record that speeds along at such an efficient clip you’d swear it was the work of a veteran act.

70
Under the Radar

If there's an underground music niche that isn't in need of another poster band, it's psychedelic rock. Yet on debut LP, Human Ceremony, the Brooklyn trio wrong-foot any cynics.

70
SPIN

Sunflower Bean have enough homegrown ability between them to draw up a series of immersing and original compositions. 

69
Pitchfork

Even if they're doing things that have been done before, it sounds like they're discovering these things for the first time, and that excitement is palpable on Human Ceremony.

60
DIY
‘Human Ceremony’ isn’t anywhere near fault-free, but its charm arrives when the trio get ahead of themselves. They’re the kind of band who’ll make you want to form your own.
57
Paste
The most exciting young band in Brooklyn put out a record that in no way does them justice.
40
PopMatters

What makes Human Ceremony so unremarkable is the sense that there are dozens, if not hundreds, of bands exactly like Sunflower Bean, playing basements and dive bars across the country. 

mikehermida
76

Like if Howling Bells and Tame Impala had a bambino.

Essential Track - Human Ceremony

TrevBev45
75

Getting Tame Impala vibes, but more Pop Rock.

CheapandLethal
90

Superb

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Added on: November 13, 2015