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Live Reviews

Beans On Toast

Beans On Toast

Colchester Arts Centre

Thursday 27th March 2025

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BEANS ON TOAST – COLCHESTER – LIVE REVIEW

📸 Denis Gorbatov

It’s a day with a Y in it, so you better believe that Beans On Toast is touring! Tonight, as the sun sets on what’s been a glorious spring day, Colchester’s local music lovers congregate in the beautiful surroundings of the city’s Arts Centre for an opportunity to revel in his tales and song.

EVY FREARSON

Colchester Arts Centre is one of the best independent venues in our beautiful country (with possibly the best toilets – seriously check them out) and it’s only right that tonight we have a local opening act to get the evening rolling.

Evy Frearson is an Essex born singer-songwriter who this evening showcases a haunting alt-folk sound which is rather fitting for this deconsecrated church! Whilst her time on stage is short, she is able to mesmerise those in attendance and undoubtedly leave them wanting more.

Frearson finishes her set with her fantastic new single, ‘Kiss Me In The Winter’ and serves as Exhibit A for the case of always getting down to venues early to support the support act!

WILLIAM CRIGHTON

Exhibit B for that case soon arrives onstage as a longtime friend of our headliner, William Crighton, takes things in a grittier direction with his brand of storytelling folk-rock.

Crighton has welcomed Beans On Toast over to his homeland for a number of shows and tours and now he is clearly enjoying his trek around the UK with Beans. His Aussie charm helps to bring his songs to life and the crowd eat up every word of the likes of ‘2000 Clicks’ and set closer ‘Priest’.

It has to be said that whenever Beans On Toast tours, he always manages to pick interesting and engaging support acts and Colchester has been blessed with two of them.

BEANS ON TOAST

Soon enough, it’s time for that man himself to hit the stage and on both legs of his tour supporting latest album, ‘Wild Goose Chasers’, he has been accompanied on piano by Matt Millership (known to fans as Tensheds or King Killership).

The man known as Beans On Toast, Jay McAllister releases a new album on his birthday each December and in recent years he has mixed up his recording process each year. This latest release was written in collaboration with Millership and it’s great to see the pair bring these songs to the stage together.

Whenever Millership takes on the musical lead tonight, it allows Beans the freedom to roam the stage and deliver his ever-thought-provoking lyrics with even more verve. The likes ‘Faith in the Moon’ and ‘Why?’ segue perfectly amongst fan favourites ‘A Beautiful Place’ and ‘Watching the World Go By’.

Mid-set Beans picks up his trusty guitar and delivers a run of songs solo including some fan requests and local-based tracks given his status as an Essex lad himself. Later Millership returns and we even see a Millership, Crighton and Beans team-up for Randy Travis cover ‘Send My Body’.

We also get a glimpse of where Beans is going with his new material this year with three new tracks making their way into the setlist including the return of his scathing political commentary on tentatively titled ‘Counter Culture’ and ‘Taylor Swift II’!

Beans has long established himself as an underground national treasure and fans that head out into the now considerably cooler March night do so glad that they left the house and supported live music.

Look at the upcoming shows section of his website and it would be fair to wager that it will never be blank. For that, we should all be grateful for the work ethic installed in Beans On Toast because any night spent in the company of ol’ Beano is always going to be glorious time.

So, the moral of this review is simply to do yourself a favour and next time Beans comes to town, do the right thing and pop along!

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Album Reviews

The Darkness

The Darkness

Dreams On Toast

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THE DARKNESS – DREAMS ON TOAST – ALBUM REVIEW

“…We haven’t stopped making hit albums, it’s just that nobody buys them anymore…” says a line in the insanely catchy ‘Walking Through Fire’, the ninth track on the latest album from The Darkness.

Yes, the band who shot to stardom before exploding like a SpaceX rocket continue their second leash of life with their eighth studio record – ‘Dreams on Toast’!

Whilst many still remember then for their outlandishly memorable debut album, the fact is that the band have been consistently releasing great new albums for the past decade or so.

“…I can’t help falling in love with Rock n Roll…’ proclaims the same song and that feels like a statement fitting of this album. Often painted as caricatures, the talent of the band is often passed over due to their unashamed exuberance.

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The Darkness – ‘Walking Through Fire’

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Well, as the squealing ‘Rock and Roll Party Cowboy’ bursts out of the traps, this instantly feels like an album on which the band are embracing that absurdity and turning the thermostat up to full. This does indeed feel like the band falling in love with themselves and embracing what makes them such a thrilling act.

The results are frankly stunning as the quartet produce what is perhaps their best album yet! Whilst nostalgia will always place ‘Permission to Land’ on top of any list ranking their works, the reality is this is a band now who have learnt more than their fair share of lessons and are firing on all cylinders.

Through a range of styles and influences, The Darkness showcase their unique talents through ten superbly crafted tracks that all carry the essence of what makes this band so special. Fans will surely love the Hawkins wit and self-aware humour that adds its charm to this fantastic release.

There is no doubt about it, even after all of this time, The Darkness are indeed still making hit albums!

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Magazine

Full Pelt Magazine

Vol. 78

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Album Reviews

Benefits

Benefits

Constant Noise

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BENEFITS – CONstant noise – album review

In a relatively short time, incendiary Teessiders Benefits have managed to create quite the buzz, and that clatter is sure to continue as they unveil their sophomore collection, ‘Constant Noise’!

This new album is fifty-one minutes of visceral poetry set amongst a sonic onslaught which is at times is both haunting and euphoric. An essence of Balearic house is given a punk makeover to create a framework for the trademark verse of frontman Kingsley Hall.

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Benefits – ‘Blame’

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This lyricism presents the grim realities of the world with frank and inescapable purity. “…it’s continual, everyday new shit, new shifts, new grifts, promises become lies become promises and then they die, forgotten about, time after time…” scythes Hall.

We all know that feeling, that the shower of brown stuff is just relentless, that there appears to be no relief. The words spoken on this album therefore will reverberate with relativity. This is a sonnet for the beaten, the betrayed and the damned. Benefits at times are providing a voice for the voiceless but more than that they are asking you to think… to care.

A slew of collaborators have helped Hall and electronic maestro Robbie Major to create this record and ensured together that it is a genuine evolution of their art. Of course, there remain similarities to their astonishing debut ‘NAILS’, but on this new album Benefits are a different beast entirely.

‘Constant Noise’ is a horrifyingly accurate assessment of modern life and how if feels to live it. It may be a little too cliched to say that Benefits are one of the most important bands of this time… but what they have to say has a vital necessity to it for damn sure!

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Lottery Winners

Lottery Winners

KOKO

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LOTTERY WINNERS – KOKO – ALBUM REVIEW

The Lottery Winners have captivated and entertained countless music fans in the past few years. Whether as a headline act, support band or festival regular the group have won over every audience that they’ve performed to with their wit and their musical charm.

That hard work led their third album, ‘Anxiety Replacement Therapy’ to the coveted number one spot in the Official UK Album Charts! This unprecedented success was achieved not just through their relentless work ethic but through catchy songs defined by a refreshing honesty.

As they unleash their fourth studio effort, ‘KOKO’, it’s notable that the band haven’t broken that mould. That’s simply because the mould was broken when Lottery Winners were made. The band are once again showcasing their unparalleled ability to create an genuine connection with their fanbase.

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Lottery Winners – ‘Superpower’

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There is indie swagger, punk attitude, folk sensitivities and all out pop hooks galore across these twelve delightful tracks. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll dance, and you’ll sing your heart out as the band double down on their ability to above all else make you feel something!

Past releases have been punctuated by a range of guests and ‘KOKO’ is no different with the customary Frank Turner feature joined by appearances from Reverend and the Makers, Shed Seven and even Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger!

The positive messages of this album are only endorsed further by the fun and uplifting sonic vibrance that Lottery Winners have again created – “…We’ve got to keep on keeping on…” the band sing on album closer ‘Keep On Keeping On’!

Somehow, Lottery Winners keep on keeping on also. They keep on spreading joyful and inspirational songs and they keep on proving their doubters wrong. This band has the ability to make a lasting impression in a world in need of real role models rather than fake influencers.

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Album Reviews

A Day To Remember

A Day To Remember

Big Ole Album Vol. 1

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A DAY TO REMEMBER – BIG OLE ALBUM VOL. 1 – ALBUM REVIEW

Momentum is a funny thing in the music industry. You either have it or you don’t. A Day To Remember had the world behind them as they blitzed through five albums in eight years. The future was theirs and 2016’s ‘Bad Vibrations’ had them on the verge of major festival headline slots and playing bigger and bigger shows.

After that release though the brakes seemed to slam on. New album, ‘Big Ole Album Vol. 1’ marks just their second album in the nearly nine years since ‘Bad Vibrations’ and follows what was the must critically panned record of their career.

Indeed, ‘You’re Welcome’ just wasn’t good enough for a band who have previously shown a relentless capability to write banger after banger. Many therefore will be looking for this new album to right the ship and put them back on course for their destined top tier status.

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A Day To Remember – ‘Miracle’

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Whilst this collection may not be the fabled return to form, it certainly does a good job in acting as a reset for the band. This is true in many ways with this being noteworthy as their first album without founding member Josh Woodard after his departure in 2021.

This refreshed version of A Day To Remember certainly do enough here to remind everyone why they garnered such momentum in the first place and thankfully after the disappointing ‘You’re Welcome’, they’ve not embarrassed themselves.

In fact, the likes of lead single ‘Miracle’, the Ollie Skyes co-write ‘Die For Me’ and the Gojira influenced ‘Silence’ are top quality A Day To Remember songs. Much of what the band do on this album works really well and the few moments which don’t quite hit the spot are still interesting enough.

Whether their time has passed to nail down that top tier status or not, only time will tell but this album ensures that they aren’t written off completely!

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Magazine

Full Pelt Magazine

Vol. 77

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Album Reviews

DOROTHY

DOROTHY

THE WAY

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DOROTHY – THE WAY – ALBUM REVIEW

It’s a decade since DOROTHY made their mark and were pegged as future superstars of hard rock. Blending the best of modern metal with classic rock swagger and stunning vocals, the group have gone on to establish themselves within their niche but it’s probably fair to say that they haven’t reached the heights predicted for them.

That’s not really a dig at their career, after all 99.9% of bands deemed the next big thing fall completely away and never achieve the success that DOROTHY have. Perhaps though there is a frustration that still the band can go on to do more!

‘THE WAY’ marks their fourth studio album and fans will be greeted with more of the same from the band. Hook-laden rockers with that soaring voice of Dorothy Martin simply captivating. This familiar territory of generic American Rock Radio hit factory songs though may be the problem – it’s all very predictable.

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DOROTHY – ‘MUD’

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‘I COME ALIVE’, ‘THE DEVIL I KNOW’ and ‘MUD’ are a fine start to the record before Slash collaboration, ‘TOMBSTONE TOWN’, is intrigue-wise perhaps the pinnacle. The rest of the album is all very good also but doesn’t offer much we haven’t heard before.

You feels like saying that this could be mistaken for the next Halestorm album, but let’s not get too negative here. The positives of this record are that there are no bad tracks, it’s another short shock of adrenaline-inducing rock ragers and all in all it’s better than most of its competitors.

DOROTHY is largely a vehicle for the eponymous singer and luckily for the band she is ferociously talented! It seems that even with their eyes closed, DOROTHY can write a properly decent collection of hits. You do just wonder what could be created if they switched off cruise control and put their foot down.

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Courting

Courting

Lust for Life Or: ‘How To Thread The Needle And Come Out The Other Side To Tell The Story’

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Courting – Lust for Life Or: ‘How To Thread The Needle And Come Out The Other Side To Tell The Story’ – album review

Courting continue to grow an underground following that have fallen in love with their unique brand of experimental indie rock. That audience will only continue grow in depth and engagement as the group share their preposterously titled third album, ‘Lust for Life Or: ‘How To Thread The Needle And Come Out The Other Side To Tell The Story’.

The album is as short as the title is long, clocking in at just twenty-five minutes and eight tracks (including a bizarre intro). That intro and opener ‘Stealth Rollback’ showcase their quirky side before ‘Pause at You’ and ‘Namcy’ demonstrate their talent for writing more straight-up indie bangers.

Indeed, you get all elements of Courting on this collection and that ensures that above all else, ‘Lust for Life Or: ‘How To Thread The Needle And Come Out The Other Side To Tell The Story’ is one of the most memorable and interesting releases of the year!

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Courting – ‘After You’

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Whilst at times they may come across as rather chaotic, Courting know how to be very precise and that echoes through the writing of this succinct but impacting new album.

‘Eleven Sent (This Time)’ and ‘After You’ continue the album’s catchy yet elaborate thread before the titular ‘Lust for Life’ changes the pace completely. Slow and methodical, the track illuminates for six and half of the twenty-five minutes which make up this album.

With ‘Likely place for them to be’ closing out the short but sharp album, you’ll be left intrigued and importantly wanting more! In a world where everything feels so cookie-cutter even, it’s nice to enjoy something a little odd.

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Ricky Warwick

Ricky Warwick

Blood Ties

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RICKY WARWICK – BLOOD TIES – ALBUM REVIEW

Rock n roll troubadour Ricky Warwick has been branching out more and more lately with his “day job” of Black Star Riders taking something of a back seat. Successful reunion shows with The Almighty have interspersed between a rejuvenated solo career, and now he is set to release his latest album, ‘Blood Ties’.

From the initial thrust of opening track, ‘Angels of Desolation’ onwards listeners will be greeted by the comforting familiarity of Warwick’s signature playing and iconic vocals. This is after all a musician who has always worn his heart on his sleeve, and you’ll pick up elements of each of his well-known escapades within these ten lovingly crafted songs.

You can sense the care that has been put into this record from the glorious riffs to the meaningful lyrics and even the artwork, which is created by Warwick’s own stepdaughter. This is a personal record in all senses of the word with some deep and insightful themes ensuring that along with his heart on his sleeve, Warwick is also baring his soul.

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Ricky Warwick – ‘Don’t Leave Me in the Dark’

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Not to hammer a point home at all but Warwick has been around the houses of the music industry and during his respected career he has made a wealth of friends. A clutch of those friends lend their talents to this record with Charlie Starr joining in on ‘Rise and Grind’, Lita Ford adding weight to ‘Don’t Leave Me in the Dark’ and The Cult’s Billy Duffy jumping on both ‘Don’t Sell Your Soul to Fall in Love’ and ‘The Hell of Me and You’.

All of these touches elevate this album into more than just another collection of songs rushed out for an excuse to play shows. You truly can feel the passion for the craft amongst these thoroughly enjoyable tracks.

Despite some naturally downbeat themes at times, the overarching positivity of the album shines through both in the message of the record and the majestic rock n roll rampage that accompanies that voice.

In short, Warwick is in top form and this is another inspired collection of juicy rockers!

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