Michael Beach, a San Francisco-based musician who writes, records, and performs under his own name, and as a member of Melbourne-based trio Electric Jellyfish, is about to hit the road once again. Since 2008, he has toured regularly, putting out records on the Thurston Moore/Byron Coley colab label, Ecstatic Yod, as well as Twin Lakes and Spectacular Commodity. Mountains + Valleys, Beach’s latest solo effort, sees its official release November 8th as a limited-edition cassette (100) and digital download on Twin Lakes/Spectacular Commodity. But you don't have to wait till November to own it. You can grab one of these rare tapes early if you catch Beach on his upcoming fall 2011 tour, a year that also saw him tour Europe and Australia in support of his previous single, A Horse (Twin Lakes/Spectacular Commodity).
For this latest collection of songs, Beach assembled an all-star cast of West Coast musicians, including drummer Utrillo Kushner (Comets On Fire) and Raymond Raposa (Castanets) on guitar and vocals. Recorded by Trans Am’s Phil Manley, Mountains + Valleys has the same familiar feeling of intimacy on previous Michael Beach releases, mixed with an intensity reminiscent of early Sonic Youth and Sebadoh tunes. Listen to some cuts early and pre-order the entire album here.
For a complete list of tour dates click here.