Michael Beach seems tired of being a songwriter and I think you are going to like it. In his 2008 release, “Blood Courses”, the music is very quiet, making room for a story that is begging to be listened to. Flashing forward to 2011′s, “Mountains + Valleys”, the music is anything but polite. Not to say that “M + V” doesn’t display a talented, forlorn songwriter, but the guitars are louder, more prevalent and the time that passes between words is longer.
The opening track, and free download, finds Michael having an emotional fit of glorified bass fuzz and electric chords. “I got a problem in my head,” he says with “visions of a straight spine.” Whatever that means, I could care less and I don’t think Michael cares what it means, either. He is just shouting out words and phrases with the raw emotion of a schizophrenic derelict.
Some of my favorite tracks are the short instrumental pieces that help to stave off the monotony that often comes with songwriter-based material. These small pieces speak louder than words and are the glue that helps to hold everything together. The minute and forty-eight second “Central San Joaquin” piles guitars, rhythms and distortion until it disintegrates into a violent strum that interns fades away into title-track, “Mountains + Valleys.” At first, Michael lulls you to sleep in his arms with a deceptive soft-strum and words of so-called planets and the disillusionment of Adam, the first man, with his “circumstantial life.” After a decent strum and another verse, the song builds and builds to a fever-pitch where Michael shouts “we dissolve into the air” and the guitar literally dissolves into a massive pile of confused feedback. Neither of these tracks would have been as good if they weren’t played together.
This time around, Michael has come through with a really well-crafted album. He is much more patient with what he has to say and he doesn’t always have to say it. There are a lot of highs, lows and in-betweens and his growth as a songwriter is seen in the confidence that the listener will indeed listen and follow in whatever direction Mr. Beach is heading. Check out the Bandcamp page to pre-order the digital download or the limited edition cassette tape of “Mountains + Valleys,” which will officially be released on November 8th.
