Beans on Toast Reveals 'Wild Goose Chasers' Album; Releases 'Myths & Legends'

While its idiosyncratic title may be typical of the wry turn-of-phrase we have come to expect from the Essex songwriter, listeners should expect a very different animal on the upcoming ‘Wild Goose Chasers’.

Deftly describing the record as “a collection of newfangled pagan hymns to coincide with the end of truth”; these sparsely-arranged, supernaturally-shaded songs promise to be unlike anything the artist has conjured previously.

Recorded under a full ”flower moon” at the Albion Rooms in Margate, these 12 heartfelt, mystical journeys are all accompanied by Matt Millership on an ancient piano. With no other instrumentation, it’s a record of simply piano and voice.

With pared-back arrangements that leave its lyrical charms laid bare, the songs of ‘Wild Goose Chasers’ are alive with folklore, mythology, and an otherworldly mystique, destined to ensnare.

Speaking about his latest work and the themes at play, Beans on Toast says: “These songs are about trading modern society for a wilder, more feral existence. Songs that dig deep into the meaning of life and our purpose on Earth. They provide an exit strategy from a boring dystopia by gambling the flood for a fairy tale. This might sound pompous, but such is life, and such is the wild goose chase.”

An album of shadows and deception, melody and magic, ‘Wild Goose Chasers’ stands as Beans on Toast’s most unadorned, unconventional, and daring release yet. Streaming on all services on 1st December 2024, the album will also be available as a limited edition picture disk vinyl with artwork by photographer Nick Page and featuring imagery of the very same “flower moon” that shone on the night the album was recorded.

Taking the album out on the road, Beans will also be embarking on an expansive tour of the UK, dubbed ‘The Wild Goose Chase’ Tour. With legs in November/December 2024 and March 2025 respectively, tickets for the first leg are on sale now. The 2025 dates will go on general sale from this Friday 4th October. The full list of tour dates are as follows:

‘WILD GOOSE CHASERS’ TOUR 2024/25

2024
13/11 STOKE ON TRENT Sugarmill
14/11 WREXHAM The Rockin' Chair
15/11 BIRKENHEAD Future Yard
16/11 PONTEFRACT Northern Social
17/11 HALIFAX The Grayston Unity (SOLD OUT)
19/11 YORK The Crescent
20/11 WHITBY Whitby Brewery
21/11 HARTLEPOOL The Studio
22/11 STIRLING Tolbooth
23/11 DUMFRIES The Venue
24/11 BOLTON The Ramp
26/11 SCUNTHORPE Café Indie
27/11 NORWICH Norwich Arts Centre
28/11 CHELMSFORD Hotbox (SOLD OUT)
01/12 MARGATE Olby's
03/12 ALDERSHOT West End Centre
04/12 ST ALBANS The Horn
05/12 MILTON KEYNES MK11
06/12 SHREWSBURY Albert's Shed
07/12 LICHFIELD Lichfield Guildhall
08/12 LEICESTER International Arts Centre
10/12 TOTNES The Barrel House Ballroom
11/12 FALMOUTH The Cornish Bank
12/12 BARNSTAPLE JCT27
13/12 GLASTONBURY The King Arthur
14/12 SHOREHAM Ropetackle

2025
12/3 LIVERPOOL The Cavern Club
13/3 MANCHESTER Band on the Wall
14/3 KENDAL Brewery Arts
15/3 NEWCASTLE The Grove
16/3 EDINBURGH The Voodoo Rooms
18/3 SHEFFIELD The Leadmill
19/3 NOTTINGHAM Rescue Rooms
20/3 LEEDS Brudenell Social Club
21/3 CARDIFF Clwb Ifor Bach
22/3 BRISTOL Bristol Beacon
23/3 PLYMOUTH The Junction
25/3 SOUTHAMPTON The Joiners
26/3 BIRMINGHAM Castle & Falcon
27/3 COLCHESTER Colchester Arts Centre
28/3 CAMBRIDGE The Junction
29/3 LONDON The Dome

Since 2005, Beans on Toast has written simple songs about complicated subjects. Tackling the big issues of the day but doing so with his feet firmly on the ground, he’s become a people’s champ of the modern folk scene and amassed a huge back catalogue of songs in the process.

One of the hardest working artists in the business, he’s released countless albums, written children's books ('The Fascinating Adventures of Little Bee’), played every festival under the sun, and even organises his own (the annual ‘Foolhardy Folk Fest’). As vital a voice in folk music today as when he started, in 2023 Beans on Toast notably delivered a speech for the Campaign of Nuclear Disarmament from Glastonbury’s iconic Pyramid Stage too.

An unrepentant optimist whose songs celebrate all that is wonderful about the human spirit, his live shows are similarly uplifting and have taken him from SOLD OUT headline shows in the UK to major international festivals and stages across the globe as far as America, Australia, Europe, and beyond. He releases his new album, ‘Wild Goose Chasers’, on 1st December, with a full supporting tour.

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