As he has for the last several years, British singer-songwriter Jay McAllister, better known as Beans On Toast, just released a new studio album (Rolling Up The Hill) on his birthday (December 1). But there’s far more to the singer judging by his pointed musical vignettes. McAllister spoke to Myspace about the new album, the songwriting process and Charlie Hebdo.

Hometown: Essex, England

Homebase: Essex, England

How do you think Rolling Up The Hill compares to the previous album musically?

The story with this record was I met a band Truckstop Honeymoon out at the Larmer Tree Festival in the UK. They're from Kansas and it's a husband and wife duo. We became friends; I'm a big fan of their music and we stayed in touch. They said, “Just come over to Kansas, we've got a really nice studio.' So the band I travel with and Truckstop Honeymoon were in a studio for four days. It's certainly got a nice new flavor to it in comparison to The Grand Scheme Of Things.

“The Great American Novel”—how did that song come together?

That was a true story. I toured the States in March, me and (banjo player) Bobby (Groves) did 10,000 miles in a hired car travelling around. It would almost be criminal if I did all that and didn't write a song about it. I just put the whole month-long tour into a three-minute song and just picked out the highlights.

Do you always have your antenna up when it comes to song ideas when you meet people?

I've always got a couple of songs knocking around somewhere in my head. It's just that the ones when you actually sit down with a pen and paper the ones that are still rattling around. I fall into the camp of thinking you can write a song about absolutely anything. So you just let them rattle around until one comes through.

Have you gotten much feedback about “God Is A Cartoonist”?

That was written pretty quickly after the (Charlie Hebdo) shooting and the opening line. It definitely seems to connect. I'm not trying to rub people the wrong way but I do stand by what I say in it. When we played it like at a biker's bar or a honky-tonk it was tricky, maybe there's a time and a place and I don't need to do this song here. But it went really well. People fell into two camps. They were either, 'Good on you' or 'Wow, that was brave.'

Has the songwriting process gotten easier over the years?

It's the same. It certainly feels correct to do an album a year, it definitely seems the right amount of output and also the right amount of encouragement knowing there will be another album coming out the next year. But it all flows quite naturally. My style of writing is quite simple and I just let it happen rather than forcing anything.

You're also going on Flogging Molly's Salty Dog Cruise in March?

I did that last year. I snuck on like a stowaway last year. I did some stuff with Flogging Molly over the years and the bass player asked me to come along. I just got stuck in and did a bunch of gigs in people's cabins and it just went super well.

Of all the places I thought my silly three-chord little songs might get me the Bahamas wasn't one of them. It's an amazing honor and a treat. I'm taking the wife this time. I think you can only go to the Bahamas without your loved one once and my mom and dad are going as well. So it's a whole family trip to the Bahamas on three chords.

You've released an album every December 1—does that give you a structure to the year?

It feels like a natural output but I've never promised I'll put out one a year. For example if I didn't have the songs I could just put it out later, there aren't any rules. That's why I like the job so much.

Have you started thinking about the next album?

I've been working on a song about Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders on this tour which has been quite tricky, an Englishman singing about American politics, it's quite a shot in the dark. So there's already a couple of new tunes.

I noticed you put Bernie Sanders on the guest list for your Burlington Vermont show?

That was just a wind-up! Bernie Sanders was in Boulder the same day we were there but I'd arrange to play someone BBQ party so I couldn't actually go. It would have been interesting to see what one of the rallies are like.