"Survival of the Friendliest" from Beans on Toast out today
Out today on his own BOT Music imprint, it’s a record all about hope, positivity and camaraderie that chooses to celebrate the very best of human nature. Written early-on in 2021, ‘Survival of the Friendliest’ is a direct reaction to the dreariness of those hard Winter months. Sidelining the endless negativity of social media, Beans turned back to nature and began to focus squarely on the brighter-sides and silver-linings of life, from a time when they seemed few and far between. The result is a record that finds the long-established protest singer changing his tune to one of eternal hope and optimism, peace and possibilities.
Taking its title from ‘Humankind’ by modern thinker Rutger Bregman, the book’s positive philosophies played a pivotal influence in shaping the course of the record. His first album since his relocation to Kent, ‘Survival of The Friendliest’ was recorded around the Summer solstice in the midst of a heatwave, a thunderstorm, a bird song, a glorious sunset and a midnight swim. With all the tracks laid-down in just under a week, the album was finalised at Big Jelly Studios in Ramsgate, where a cast of revolving musicians including the multi-talented gospel singer Sarah Telman (backing vocals, strings), Rosie Bristow of Holy Moly & The Crackers (accordion), Adriano Rossetti-Bonell (saxophone) and Graham Godfrey (drums) made the magic happen.
On “Survival Of The Friendliest”, Beans has taken a more positive slant as he celebrates the world in which we live. And after the last 18 months we’ve all experienced what’s not to love and enjoy about that ?! It feels not so much just a post-lockdown album but it takes a wider look at the world around us. Following the pandemic, I think there is generally more of an understanding of how we have taken the world for granted (eg COP26, and the state of modern politics etc). Maybe we all feel a bit more focused on the world around us ? So no shortage of inspiration there then.
Beans and Toast has always had a sincerity in his voice and a charming warmth that is hard to find n many other artists. It’s something that draws you in to his music, and makes you listen to the words and more importantly, the message therein. But most of all, you genuinely get the feeling Beans really means the things he sings about.
In the opening song, A Beautiful Place, we get the tone set for the whole album, and it sums up it’s spirit perfectly with a bright tune and wonderful uplifting chorus. As Beans explains, it is “hopeful, optimistic and downright happy. A celebration of humanity at large, the beauty of the world and the randomness of our existence”. The lyrics speak for themselves with lines like “if you are good to the world it will be good to you” and “we might as well try to look out for one another” In a complex, mad and confusing world, the advice can’t be simpler, or clearer than that really eh ?! This is a belter and a really favourite, and a new go-to song for when I need a lift. This one also shows Beans development, moving from the simply acoustic guitar and vocals folk style to a much fuller complex sound. Wonderful.
Stones takes us back to a simple acoustic format and looks at the magic and wonder of nature around us, but which we on the whole, take for granted. Then into Blow Volcano Blow which sets off with a skiffle type beat which leads us into a magical, bouncing rhythm. A wonderful bright and infectious number to stamp those feet to, click your fingers or sing along to.
The central core of the album, one of positivity continues through the jaunty Not Everybody Thinks We’re Doomed. “Listen to your heart and ignore everything else. Because the world has always been wild and unpredictable that’s half the fun of it, nobody has got a clue, but not everybody thinks we’re doomed, and that’s a brilliant attitude“. The positivity can be summed up by the simply beautiful line “Every day you survive you get a free sunset”.
The tone changes with Tree Of The Year a slower, more subdued and melancholy take on the fragility of life “She was the tree of the year, she had her time in the sun. One day she was here, the next day she was gone” a beautiful track, with a haunting end as the strings fade away. Humans, it has a wonderful and joyous swagger to it as it celebrates life itself with uplifting lyrics such as “riding into battle on a unicorn”. It really makes you want to get up and out and face the day head on.
On The Commons we go back to folk roots and explore the impact of land ownership on the common people of England. I love the way this one deals with the heavy ideological issues of class and wealth ownership, against the desire for a right to roam, to be free in our own land. A desire for the simple things in life that are as the lyrics say “inherently ours”.
Next up we have a wonderful love song, and one of my favourite tracks on the album in Let’s Get Married Again. I love the fiddle in this one that just seems to meander and roam round the track. A celebration of love.
We have the acoustic delights of Apples next which takes us back to the beauty of nature and how nature is embedded in everything we have and do, be it good or bad; “in the handle of a hammer, in the handle of a sword”. Standing out in the middle is a wonderfully moving and reflective spoken word/poetic section by Dizraeli. When the introductory beat of Ready For Action hit me, I thought for a moment I’d gone back to the 80’s and China Crisis or Blancmange ! A very different feel to this one, with it’s 80’s era synth and drum machine tones. It’s subtle, not overpowering. A track about how the future really is in our own hands to shape and change.
Finally we come to the final track Love Yourself, with it’s almost military snare beat with a crisp clear piano and violin providing the main focus rather than the acoustic guitar. It has a real feel of a rallying call, as it encourages us all to have self-belief and a conviction that we can make a difference, with lines such as “Be yourself, believe in yourself, bet on yourself, you owe it to yourself”. It ends with a power electric guitar performance with loud cried from Beans and shouts of “Woooooooo” giving a real sense of freedom of spirit, and invincibility….. We can do this !
This one is a real collaboration with Blaine Harrison and Jack Flanagan making a significant contribution throughout. And excellent contributions from Nick Hayes (banjo), Sarah Telman (backing vocals and strings), Rosie Bristow (accordion), Adriano Rossetti-Bonell (saxophone) and Graham Godfrey (drums).
“Survival Of the Friendliest” really is the perfect antidote to re-energise us all from the despair that we find all around us. It doesn’t just celebrate the best of human nature but also creates a wonderful overwhelming sense of hope and positivity in humankind with its charm and uplifting choruses, whilst at times, also challenging your inner consciousness about how we treat the world around us.
From start to finish this collection of songs in magnificent and you really cannot listen to this album without smiling.….. broadly, from ear to ear…. just try it. I love it, a real celebration and something to brighten any day. Thank you Beans…… We’re smiling here and we can only offer a grateful 10 from LiveWire.
Beans on Toast heads out on tour today starting off in Whitstable, before rounding off Lafayette in London on 12 March 2022. For more details on the tour and tickets check out: https://beansontoastmusic.com/
