  
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
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