Michael Beach is a Melbourne-based musician who writes, records, and performs under his own name, and as a member of Melbourne trio Shovels. He is a recent transplant from Oakland, CA, having spent the last 5 years recording two solo albums (2013’s Golden Theft and the forthcoming Gravity/Repulsion) and playing as a member of Oakland’s Colossal Yes and Meercaz. Since 2008, he has put out records on Twin Lakes Records, Homeless Records, Ecstatic Yod, and Spectacular Commodity.
Shovels’ self-titled debut LP is out now on Homeless Records. From Homeless: ‘Australian psych-post-punk fury of clanging guitars, pummeling drums, and thick, sinewy basslines combine for a primal, minimalistic outpouring of swaggering rawk.’
After a two years of touring Golden Theft (Twin Lakes), Michael Beach returned to the studio to record Gravity/Repulsion — the culmination of two years playing as full band with drummer Utrillo Kushner (Colossal Yes, Comets On Fire) and bass player Muslim Delgado (Meercaz). Gravity/Repulsion was recorded with engineer Phil Manley (Moon Duo, Carlton Melton) at Manley’s El Studio in San Francisco. It is due for release in September 2017 on Spectacular Commodity.
“Hooky and a little bit heavy, driving and catchy like crazy, and that tempo shift just kills us every time, so unexpected, but so cool…..Drifting from crunchy post punk, to woozy psychedelic drift, to countrified rust belt songsmithery, and several other stops in between… Gorgeous stuff for sure.” – Aquarius Records on Golden Theft