“Put a bit of money on the table and everyone turns into a dickhead.” As far as first lines go, that’s a pretty decent way to get the attention. As far as lyrics go, ‘Writing on the Wall’ is brimful of charming witticisms, heartfelt sentiment and comedic touch. In short, this isn’t what you might expect from BEANS ON TOAST. Then again, maybe it is.
Rewind: in October 2009 Beans on Toast toured with long time friend Frank Turner. To the uninitiated (in this case, this writer) his set was wild fun, full of comedy and oh-my-god-did-he-say-that moments. It was a hilarious 30 minutes but it didn’t really entice enough for further investigation, ending up filed away as just another ‘comedy’ act. Fast forward a little more than a year and ‘Writing on the Wall’ proves to be egg on your friendly writer’s face.
First and foremost, this album is about lyrics. The ten songs on offer here aren’t so much sung as conversed. There’s a story-telling, conversationalist (pub yarn) feel to matters that makes this album so much more fascinating. Topics on the beer soaked table range from diminishing oil reserves (‘Oil’), Meow Meow (‘Methadrone’), nu-metal/nu-grunge/nu-farce (‘Old Grunge’), to love and friendship (‘Travel Back in Time Dance’). Standard fare it may be but it’s nothing less than engaging.
Musically, the album is raw, unpolished and gritty, and that’s where it stands out. The whole acoustic folk/punk/country thing is riding high (on the back of Mr Turner’s success?) at the moment, but some of the releases seem a little too, well, polished. ‘Writing on the Wall’ is pretty much one-take stuff, recorded bedroom style, no nonsense and undemanding. The simple acoustic guitar is at times beefed out with an assortment of accompaniments (violin, accordion), but importantly, the music never outshines the lyrical content. It’s not that it’s poor more that it proves the perfect accompaniment. This is lo-fi singer/songwriter recording at its simplest and best.
In short, ‘Writing on the Wall’ is an album that elevates Beans on Toast beyond the comedy act branding, proving to be a captivating stroll amidst intellectual thinking and heartfelt passion. If you’ve pigeonholed the act previously, you’re urged to think again. If you haven’t, well, you know all of the above already, right?
ALEX HAMBLETON