The Rifles - 'Mr Sunflower'
A song about kindness with a mod-like bite that demonstrates the maturity and experience of what Rifles fans have come to admire.
There’s something to be said about a band that despite having not released an album in eight years, still has a popular demand and such strong interaction for a new single. ‘Mr Sunflower’ is the third single from their upcoming album ‘Love Your Neighbour’. The album was originally due for release on April 26th, but has been postponed until July 5th.
Hardcore Rifles fans know exactly the bands influences, and if you’re not; it’ll only take a couple of tracks to realise who their inspirations are. The mod movement has galvanised this bands sound, and ‘Mr Sunflower’ is the band capturing the essence of their early work layered with the maturity and longevity of a band that have a concrete fanbase eighteen years after the release of their debut album. Frontman Joel Stoker says that “The song is about community and getting along and going out of your way to put a smile on the face of people who you see day in day out. It’s actually based on Luke’s neighbour, Simon, who grows his own sunflowers and when they’re ready hands them out to all his neighbours. I think we could all do with more Simons in our life.”
In a world of constant digital media and selfies, this song has the feel of a band trying to make sense of a world that has changed somewhat drastically since they’ve arrived on the scene. The first members met in 2003, and twenty one years in hindsight isn’t the longest of periods, but is still enough time to completely change the way we indulge music, and the general world around us. The lyrics of this song are about getting back to basics, and being kind to one another with a chorus of “Love, love, love, love your neighbour’’. This song also represents how the band spends their personal time, with families, and children, and in a world post covid, how we can all be a little bit kinder to each other.
The Rifles have already embarked on their nearly sold-out May tour, with an exciting festival appearance at Sheffield’s Don Valley Bowl at the end of August. This song has the band reflecting on their career, and life both as people, and musicians so far. But the quality of these new releases suggests that they’re not quite done yet.
Words by Doug Dewdney
