Beans on Toast – The Inevitable Train Wreck
BOT Music – Out Now
While December First is one of those crazy days in the run-up to Christmas, for Jay McAllister the day indicates the traditional release date for his latest Beans on Toast long-player, The Inevitable Train Wreck. It’s been the same for the last 10 years, so why change now? Which is not to say that there’s nothing different about the latest collection. Upbeat, yet old-school rock and roll, recorded in a fully analogue fashion, the album is a collaborative affair between McAllister and Lewis and Kitty Durham.
Lewis recorded everything on equipment he had either built or salvaged, while Kitty played everything from guitar, bass and drums to percussion and harmonica. The choice is interesting considering that as McAllister states, “If the songs were gonna have this apocalyptic outlook, I figured it would be better to present them in a happy way, and came up with the idea of making a rock ’n’ roll record.”
Yet this isn’t exactly rock and rage, although album opener World Gone Crazy certainly has a bleak outlook attached to it’s 50s rock beat. Part Eddy Cochran, part Billy Bragg, it opens “Sounds like the world has gone crazy, underpaid and overpopulated, burning from the inside out.” The litany of man’s inability to control his baser impulses eventually concludes, “Losing our grip on a decent democracy, front row seats to the end of humanity…” Not exactly a hopeful outlook.
The shuffle of England I Love You doesn’t seem to offer a lot more optimism. “On the hottest day in London since records began. In a tale of dirty money and divided opinions, an unelected leader moves into number 10, and the future’s looking bleak for England.” These are most definitely the times that try man’s soul, yet all is not completely lost. Extinction No. 6 offers a number of solutions to the problems of a dying planet.
The sense of renewed possibilities continues with On & On, where McAllister expresses his belief, “Yeah life is ridiculous, it’s also hilarious. It can be dangerous and sometimes even tedious, but it is resilient and it is beautiful, and I believe in it, long may it continue.” Somewhere between the two extremes, there is a pathway to a better world.
At the end of the day perhaps The Inevitable Train Wreck isn’t so inevitable. Hope is where you find it and for Beans on Toast it’s there if you look hard enough and work for change. How do you like them beans?
The Inevitable Train Wreck is out now.
BEANS ON TOAST: ‘THE INEVITABLE TRAIN WRECK TOUR’
DECEMBER 2019
04 – READING Face Bar
05 – GLASTONBURY Boca Bar
06 – PLYMOUTH Junction
07 – SWANSEA Garage
08 – STROUD Prince Albert – SOLD OUT
10 – GUILDFORD Boileroom
11 – CAMBRIDGE Portland Arms
12 – DERBY Venue
13 – NORWICH Arts Centre
14 – BEDFORD Esquires
18 – SHEFFIELD Leadmill
19 – STOKE Sugarmill
20 – LIVERPOOL Phase One
21 – COLCHESTER Three Wise Monkeys
JANUARY 2020
31 – BRIGHTON Chalk
FEBRUARY 2020
01 – BRISTOL Trinity
05 – SOUTHAMPTON The Loft
06 – CARDIFF The Globe
07 – LEEDS Brudenell Social Club
08 – BIRMINGHAM Castle & Falcon
09 – NOTTINGHAM Bodega
12 – NEWCASTLE Tyne Bank Brewery
13 – EDINBURGH Old Dr Bells Baths
14 – MANCHESTER Gorilla
15 – LONDON Dome
Tickets via:
https://beansontoastmusic.com