Album Review

Beans On Toast - Giving EverythingBeans On Toast – Giving Everything

Since bursting on the scene in 2009 Beans On Toast has had a set routine where he releases a new album every year on or around his Birthday the 1st December and that brings us to the fifth Beas On Toast album in five years ‘Giving Everything’ which is due to be released on Xtra Mile Recordings any day now, this time around the Essex folk singer songwriter headed down to Toybox studios in Bristol with producer Mike Freear to record his new 11 track album which features Beans On Toast doing what he does best and telling a handful of interesting stories.

The album opens with ‘Harry In a Helicopter’ a song about Prince Harry getting stoned, joining the Army, being brave, being the youngest sibling, gracing the newspapers with wild stories, musically the song is basic as it is simply Beans On Toast and his acoustic guitar but what makes the song stand out is the way that Beans On Toast has mastered the art of telling of a story as he goes back and forth singing about how he writes songs and what Prince Harry has been up to in a witty way, the song is fun but I can’t see it being on the royal family’s Christmas music playlist.

‘Things’ see’s Beans On Toast singing about various things going on in the world at the moment such as the recent controversial fracking situation as he sings “I don’t know what fracking is but it sounds really bad drilling holes into the hills and poising the land, searching for an energy that we are told we need by the people who own the shares in the fracking company”.

‘Can’t Get A Gig At Glastonbury’ see’s Beans On Toast singing about the changing times at Glastonbury how everyone has to register their Id in order to be in with a chance to get a ticket and how they have to walk around with a barcode on their wrist in order to attend the festival and how each year it becomes tougher and tougher to get a ticket for Glastonbury, luckily for Beans On Toast he is a regular performer at the festival yet has penned such an big witty catchy track.

‘Sold Out Shows’ is a great song about playing shows and how it is interesting playing various different venues and how they are all different whilst also making fun out of the price of drinks and how venues are well known for ripping bands and fans off with Beans On Toast singing “£4.80 for a pint of Guinness you must be fucking joking mate you are having a laugh the bar staff get paid pittance and they take money from your merch and there’s plasma screen TV’s everywhere advertising stuff”.

Lyrically ‘Charlie’ is a bonkers song about eating salad, drinking wine and more importantly not taking any more Charlie and how taking Charlie can have various different effects on you, musically the song is one of the most upbeat tracks on the album with a lot more going on instrumentally. ‘The American Dollar’ is all about American conspiracy’s and throughout the song some good points are made as Beans On toast goes all out having a rant about everything that’s wrong in the world today.

The album closes with ‘Keep You’ the song is the oddest track on the album and is more of a spoken word track as Beans On Toast reels of loads of things like a robot before the song really gets going with a positive rhythm before ending with more spoken word vocals.

I have always been interested in the work of Beans On Toast but after seeing him play such a tiny tent at the Village Green festival in Southend back in the Summer I have become more of a fan as throughout his set he had a lot of time for the crowd and told some fantastic stories within his music and now he has just released another 11 tracks where many are easily going to be slotted in future live shows and it seems that Beans On Toast has no intention on slowing down as he is currently out on his own headline tour and then heads out to support his good friend Frank Turner in February at many stadiums across the country.

4.5/5

Review by Trigger

 Band Members

Beans On toast
 Track Listing
1. Harry in a Helicopter
2. Things
3. Can't Get a Gig at Glastonbury
4. Favourite Thing I Own
5. Who Is Big Jeff?
6. Sold Out Shows
7. Post Bestival Festival Blues
8. Charlie
9. The American Dollar
10. Throat Cancer
11. Keep You
 Band Related Links
Beans On Toast Facebook
 Review Score Code
- Top Cheese
- Brilliant
- Pretty damn good
- Ok I guess
- What Was That?