Beans on Toast are set to release their latest studio album ‘Survival of the Friendliest’ on 1 December via BOT Music.
The album was written alongside old friends Blaine Harrison and Jack Flanagan of Mystery Jets and finds Beans, a long-established protest singer, turning towards a more optimistic and peaceful approach to the world. It largely centres around finding the brighter side in everything and celebrating the very best of human nature as a direct reaction to the dreary winter months of 2020.
Opening track ‘A Beautiful Place’ is an instant shift in tone from what listeners would typically expect to hear from Beans. The dominant message throughout is the idea that you get out of life what you put into it and being kind and treating people fairly will never be a wasted effort. It’s an overwhelmingly positive start and one that sets you up perfectly for the rest of the album.
One theme that overrides the majority of the album is that of nature. From ‘Stones’ to ‘Blow Volcano Blow’, and ‘Apples’ to ‘Tree of the Year’, each track flows on from the next as if telling a story. These songs really draw attention to the natural world and the whole-hearted appreciation that Beans has for it, creating a much more mellow tone than some of Beans’ previous work.
Although ‘Survival of the Friendliest’ is such a glowingly bright portrayal of both the human race and the world that we live in, it does not look at it through rose-tinted glasses. Songs such as ‘Humans’ and ‘The Commons’ explore the idea that nobody is perfect and that despite these flaws we can always overcome then and live harmoniously alongside each other. The lyrics are carefully crafted to acknowledge inequality and imperfection but in a way that doesn’t damn or shame anyone, and it’s this subtlety that makes the album so endearing.
Following this is the sprightly ‘Let’s Get Married Again’, in which Beans fantasises about marrying his wife Lizzy all over again. The song was inspired by the flurry of wedding bookings he experienced over the summer when festival bookings were few and far between, and it is just the cheesy love song we all needed.
Closing track ‘Love Yourself’ radiates gratefulness and hope. The piano is just as delicate and reassuring as the lyrics which are laced with encouragement. This track is the ideal come down and rounds the album off in a way that leaves you feeling satisfied and yet awakens a feeling of self-assurance at the same time.