Reflectors of popular music can only be as strong as the genre that excites the most listeners. For The Beach Boys, it means a transition from sluggish, surfing days to psychedelic misfires in the post-Pet Sounds days. It was not until the ‘60s had come to a close that the band would find steadier songs. Smiley Smile and Wild Honey may be solid efforts, but they were no match for the Brian Wilson masterpiece preceding them. Surf’s Up would be the next big hitter from the band, an extraordinary piece of work which planted The Beach Boys firmly in the counterculture they had kindled five years before. Sunflower does this too, though it is overlooked somewhat by the desire for heavy rock and roll imports from the United Kingdom and a protest movement that the Wilson-featuring band were too late in capturing. Sunflower remains an impressive piece of work nonetheless.
Delightful, deeply-moving songs are paired with the shortness and spontaneity of albums like Wild Honey. It’s a pairing which makes all the difference for The Beach Boys. Sunflower has the band play to their strengths, a rarity given how quick they would be to step away from the Pet Sounds style. They suffered after departing from that sound, and on Sunflower, it sounds like they were trying to bring some of that magic back. Slip on Through and This Whole World are welcoming, early moments. That invitation from the band to invite a lighter touch to their day is nice. It’s also honest. The Beach Boys had worked within pop constructs for half a decade, and most of it is at the behest of chart-topping evidence. They were following the trend rather than setting it. Sunflower has the group distance itself from the dissonance of pop at the time and instead follow the charmingly light tones they are still best-known for. Harmonising on Add Some Music to Your Day highlights this best of all.
Sincerity is what they lacked in those early years, and what they had an abundance of in the post-Pet Sounds period. There’s a lightness to Deirdre which has the band feeling more like a group from across the pond, tucking away their Americanisms for a breezy and warm piece of work. They are pulling from their influences in the sweetest of ways here. Trumpet work and a wistful instrumental are what tie the song together so sweetly. Sunflower is filled with those upbeat moments. It does not hide heartbreak or hate. It has nothing but earnestness for its listeners. Some may find that too sickly, but others will be drawn to it as an antidote to the heavier material of Surf’s Up. The band tackles the broad strokes of romance with a dignity few others would hold onto.
A baroque best comes through on Tears in the Morning. It’s a song which gives listeners a new entry into The Beach Boys. They play up a sound once more, but not a popular one. They’re naturals for this style, the lighter hum of instrumental work a constant joy on Sunflower. What the band, and the album by extension, benefits from is the shared writing effort. Brian and Dennis Wilson come through best of all, but Bruce Johnston has some golden moments, too. It’s a project which gives each of The Beach Boys a sense of individuality, a tone simply not possible in their pop-chasing early works. A song like All I Wanna Do sounds truly ahead of its time with the cool and stripped-back mixture. Sunflower is an incredible surprise for those who believed Pet Sounds and Surf’s Up were the influential peaks for the band. Sunflower is a worthy third classic.
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