Tomorrow, at the time of writing, is Beans On Toast’s birthday and therefore sees the release of his annual album. Sixty years ago, two or even three albums a year was the norm – now one full-length record a year is exceptional, especially when it consists of all new material with no covers to hide behind. This year’s album is Wild Goose Chasers and it marks a change in style. Beans sets aside his guitar and is accompanied solely by Matt Millership on piano but, as always, he tells it like he sees it.
The songs relate to the rejection of modern society. They are typically short but packed with ideas, words almost tumbling over each other to be heard. The lead single, ‘Myth & Legends’, looks ahead and questions how this generation will be viewed in the future as we become their myths and legends – “we’ll find it in the forest, not the technology”, he sings as he asks why we’re on this Earth. Paradoxically, the opening track is a short instrumental, ‘Away With Words’, but that’s a tease.
Wild Goose Chasers contains twelve tracks and, for my money, the absolute killer comes near the end. ‘Before The Flood’ presents Beans’ vision of the end of our society in horribly plausible detail as he warns against hoping for a fairy tale ending – the wild goose chase of the album’s title. ‘Fairy Tale Ending’, of course, is the title of the closing instrumental. Elsewhere ‘The Midas Touch’ is a barrelhouse tune about luck and it contrasts with ‘Variety’ which calls for a return to the natural world and re-wilding. Beans doesn’t actually want to impose his views on everyone and the heart of the song basically says that everyone is entitled to their own opinions. I think that is uncommonly generous of him.
Other top tracks include ‘Boring Dystopia’, ‘Oh, What A Life’, ‘The Glorious Fool’ and the stunning ‘Why?’ posing all the questions that still puzzle us but concludes that these questions only engender more questions. Beans is looking forward to finding some of the answers. If you already know Beans On Toast’s work you’ll be eager to get your hands on Wild Goose Chasers but I’d like to think that it will garner some new converts.
Dai Jeffries
Artist’s website: https//beansontoastmusic.com
‘Myths & Legends’ – official video:
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