Every year on the same date, December 1st, Beans On Toast (or Jay as his mum calls him) releases a new album and has done so for the last decade. A Bird In The Hand is his latest.
Beans has a lot in common with Robb Johnson – and I mean that as a compliment. He writes and sings the way he speaks and can draw his inspiration from the most mundane observations so his records are almost like a diary or an annual report. The past year was an important one for him, seeing the birth of his first daughter, not without a scare on the way, as told in ‘Magic’ with the opener. ‘Another Year’, addressed to her and her mother. The album was produced by Ben Lovett of Mumford & Sons who I guess plays drums and who recruited bassist Ted Dwane alongside guitarist Christof ven der Ven, singer-songwriter Jess Morgan, Tommy Heap and Chris Mass.
I suspect that Jay spent quite some time with mother and newborn and from that time came ‘Here At Homerton Hospital which praises the staff and makes the point of noting their nationalities. If he’s exaggerated a bit, I don’t mind. The single, ‘Alexa’ is an amusing dig at Amazon and ‘Bamboo Toothbrush’ takes an enormous swing at our ridiculous use of plastic. In between these is ‘1980’s Sagittarius’ which seems puzzling at first but turns out to be a song in praise of Skinny Lister vocalist Lorna Thomas, just because they are friends.
Beans takes a day off in ‘Watching The World Go By’ but returns to the fray with ‘Please Give Generously’ which isn’t just about the homeless, and a sort of confessional by a travelling musician in ‘Miss You Lke Crazy’ which is also addressed to his daughter. The bands cited above will tell you a lot about the sound of ths album – a little folky, a little rocky, quite serious and a great deal of fun.
Dai Jeffries
Artist’s website: www.beansontoastmusic.com
‘Magic’ – official video:
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