Vol. 62
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Beans On Toast
Wild Goose Chasers
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BEANS ON TOAST – WILD GOOSE CHASERS – ALBUM REVIEW
It can’t be easy keeping things interesting when you make a pledge to release a new album every year, either for your fans or yourself. Still, Beans On Toast always manages it, helped of course by his in the moment lyrics but also of late by his increasing musical exploration.
His latest album, ‘Wild Goose Chasers’ finds Beans applying his wordsmithery over the fantastical piano wizardry of Matt Millership (aka Tensheds, aka King Killership) to beautiful effect.
Described enigmatically by the man himself as “a collection of newfangled pagan hymns to coincide with the end of truth”, these songs again find this cherished musician mixing personal experiences with his signature social commentary. Big thinking mixes with delicate thoughts and comes out as another vital set of engaging songs.
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The gentler melodies and softer vocals present on this record showcase a different side of a songwriter of cult-like status. Familiar yet different, ‘Wild Goose Chasers’ is certain to register as amongst Beans best ever work.
As much as you can follow his growth as a person across his extensive back catalogue, recent releases have really demonstrated exponential development of Beans On Toast the artist.
Naturally these are intertwined enormously but to return to our opening point, it is truly incredible that seventeen albums down the line Beans On Toast is still standing on a chair as a master of his art!
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Vol. 61
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Vol. 60
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Linkin Park
From Zero
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LINKIN PARK – FROM ZERO – ALBUM REVIEW
The mere fact that on the cusp of 2025, seven years post the tragic passing of Chester Bennington, we’re reviewing an album of brand-new Linkin Park material is of course surreal and highly emotive.
As you’d expect with any decision to continue after the loss of an iconic and much-loved singer, the move hasn’t been without controversy. But, as we’ve seen with the pre-release singles and their return to the stage, nobody can argue the fact that Emily Armstrong sure can sing (and indeed scream!); but this isn’t blasting out a rendition of ‘Numb’… so how does Linkin Park 2.0 hold up on record?
A somewhat unnecessary intro isn’t the best start to ‘From Zero’, but as soon as the familiar strains of comeback single, ‘The Emptiness Machine’ kick in a sense of hope and intrigue takes over. From there, the gravity of what this record is helps to both elevate and hold back the songs.
This isn’t old Linkin Park, but it never truly could be, and it’s certainly not ‘not Linkin Park’ as many will say. Armstrong intertwines with Mike Shinoda as well as Bennington ever did and vocally, she manages to both pay homage to Bennington and offer something new (well beyond the tired gender trope).
That could be the overarching takeaway from this record in fact, the past is acknowledged, and key elements of the Linkin Park identity are here and turned up to eleven, but ultimately is feels like the foundations for what will no doubt come in the future.
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This, in terms of keeping old school fans warm, is perhaps therefore a little safer than Linkin Park themselves would actually have ever embraced. This is a band remember that were happy to abandon their early fame producing sound in favour of the greater sonic experimentation in their later records.
The reality though is the likes of ‘Heavy is the Crown’, ‘Over Each Other’, ‘Casualty’ and ‘Two Faced’ make this the best Linkin Park album since 2007’s ‘Minutes to Midnight’. That said there is definitely room for improvement with some questionable moments and some distracting extras.
Realistically you can say that this record had no right to be this good. As painful as it is that Chester is no longer with us, it’s great for fans of the band that the Linkin Park legacy continues into this new era. If this is just the start, then we can’t wait to hear what comes next!
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Vol. 59
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The Virginmarys
The House Beyond The Fires
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THE VIRGINMARYS – THE HOUSE BEYOND THE FIRES
Since breaking through with their debut album, ‘King of Conflict’ in 2013, The Virginmarys have spent a decade earning themselves a hardcore fanbase with stunning albums and intense live shows.
Even whilst transitioning from a trio to a duo, the band has proven themselves time and again and have shown themselves as artists that just do not miss. Every release to this point has been a bombastic rock n roll explosion and now they are back again with their latest album, ‘The House Beyond The Fires’.
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So, is now the time that the band miss?
Spoiler alert – no!
Of course not, the string of tracks previewed either live or as a single had probably indicated that fans anyway, but to put it in black and white – this is The Virginmarys at their very best yet again.
There’s an impassioned ferocity that runs throughout these eleven songs as the duo provide a scathing commentary on the state of the world. There is a fire that burns in both the sonic onslaught and the frank lyricism on this commanding record. The fast pace makes for a blistering collection which needs to be played loud and ideally heard live!
All of the previously unheard tracks, ‘White Knuckle Riding’, ‘My Nettle’, ‘Dance To The City’ and ‘Urban Seagull’ are single quality and there genuinely isn’t a bad moment within any of the thirty-nine gloriously rambunctious minutes.
Their dedicated fanbase must feel like they are in on some powerful secret, because it’s truly unfathomable how this band isn’t absolutely massive!
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Vol. 58
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The Cure
Songs of a Lost World
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THE CURE – SONGS OF A LOST WORLD – ALBUM REVIEW
It’s important to note that this review is written by someone who, despite such a passion for music that they write reviews of albums, has never gotten into The Cure. I can’t actually say that it’s not for a lack of trying, because the reality is that I’ve never tried!
Something always felt a little intimidating about trying to dig into their near five-decade long career. Where would I start and what order would I go in? What if I didn’t like what I heard? What if I did?!
Well, with the band releasing their first new album in sixteen long years and facing the reality that with the members of the band in their mid to late sixties, ‘Songs of A Lost World’, could be their last ever, it feels like a now or never situation!
At just eight tracks, but a fifty-minute run time, on the face of it this album can again look rather intimidating, especially when you clock the 10+ minute album closer, ‘Endsong’! Musically though the album is instantly welcoming as the band usher you into this lost world of theirs.
Whilst the album is easy to listen to in the sense that it doesn’t turn you away, it has to be said that thematically it is heavy listening with a foreboding darkness shrouding the lyrics focused on mortality and loss.
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Given the fact that this could be their last album, many of the words sung so hauntingly by Robert Smith feel very apt. This despite the fact that the majority of the album was recorded and ready to go five years ago.
There is something mesmeric about this album though, and it’s no surprise that both the band themselves and the music press are confident that it’s up there with their best ever work.
Perhaps in hindsight, for someone unqualified in their back catalogue, but with a knowledge of their biggest mainstream hits, this probably wasn’t the best place to start a deep dive into the musical journey of The Cure.
That said, if this album was presented to me with no name attached, no burden of history or pre-judgement of quality then I’d still be saying this is a magnificent, reflective and absorbing collection which is well worth investing some of your time towards.
So, if like me, you feel a little intimidated when considering a jump into The Cure or ‘Songs of A Lost World’, then I’d suggest you just throw away those inhibitions and explore this lost world!
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Vol. 57
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