Album Review: Beans on Toast - "Knee Deep In Nostalgia"

 

The first of a double bill of Beans on Toast albums out this month. I suppose if there's one group of people who were always going to be able to take advantage of the on-off lockdown we seem to have been stuck in for months now, it was bedroom DIY types and BOT has put out two albums at once with Knee Deep In Nostalgia being billed as a gentle escape from the hellishness of 2020.

Similar to Frank Turner (who produces here), Beans on Toast have a knack of making gentle heartwarming songs from everyday experiences and songs like My Favourite Teacher and his ode to Willie Nelson What Would Willie Do are perfect morning after songs for when you're feeling a bit rough and need something to soothe your soul. With subjects ranging from trying to see the bright side as the nights get shorter (No Need To Be Frightened) to simply listening to your favourite albums with your kids (Album Of The Day), it’s a genuinely comforting listen while the fond reminiscing over his early gigs and the Camden of years gone by on Once Upon A Time is a lyrical cousin of Turner's I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous and you may well find yourself trying to get something out of your eye during this one if you used to inhabit that neck of the woods a decade or two ago.

A gentle warm album for rainy afternoons or just times when you need cheering up (which, let's be honest, is quite a lot of the time these days), Knee Deep In Nostalgia is proper chicken soup for the music listener's soul and I heartily recommend it (Bandcamp link here). However, as we'll see later today, BOT's other new album is a bit of a different proposition...

NITE SONGS RATING: 🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌑🌑 (8/10)

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