Beans’ love of words is illustrated in track one, “Away with Words”, a pun on Beans having a way with words and it being an instrumental (ie no words), pianist Matt Millership showing off his talent in semi-classical vein before he strips back for most of the songs (“Before the Flood” has some fine playing, too).
This new album – released, as ever on his birthday – sees Beans turning his folksy wisdom to a different way of life, a set of pagan hymns as he calls it, with just his voice and piano.
First song proper seems to be a plea about getting life in perspective, “Faith in the Moon” either meaning looking at the stars for comfort or advice that everything will pass, just as the moon waxes and wanes.
“The Midas Touch” is perkier, a bluesy number about luck – the album is about trading modern life for a more feral existence, he says, – while “Variety” talks about rethinking land use and the economic system, and having variety in your life by having a go at something new, as well as embracing a variety of opinions. (A flaw in his logic, really: Beans is ever the optimist but given the topic, there is no alternative opinion as far as climate change goes, and thus variety not a thing to be encouraged). He does make a valid point about hearing out other people’s views without having a stroke, though. That listening to others is now an outlier as far as normal life goes is perhaps a little depressing. The piano is rather lovely on this.
“Variety” is followed by “Boring Dystopia” (more jazzy blues on the keys), which the narrator is leaving as per the album theme. Blues figures highly, with “Why” and “The Glorious Fool” both having the blues piano, as heard in a club in New Orleans about 1922. (The piano sounds a bit battered, too).
The gentle and hymn-like “The Bees’ Nest In My Pebbledash” is possibly the standout and goes against the grain of the album, seemingly about being happy with what you’ve got, whether bees or humans, “and I’m happy here in my nest with my family by my side”.
It’s slightly more earnest than the usual Beans fare, but still has his trademark vocals and humour. Despite pleas for listeners to go more feral, he’s not changing.
JMC
