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Music

Michael Beach's New Track Is A Tribute To Friends Here and In Heaven

The Melbourne via Bay Area songwriter continues his dusty forays into outsider rock 'n' roll.

Recorded back in 2015 when Michael Beach was living in Oakland, California, "I Never Had Enough Time With You" is a punchy track that brims with melody, warm memory and the emotive voice of the Melbourne via Bay Area songwriter.

Beach, has kept a busy trans-Pacific schedule over the last few years playing in Bay Area bands Colossal Yes and Meercaz as well as with Brisbane art grunters Shovels and the proggy psych of Melbourne's Electric Jellyfish. He's also been punching out his own solo albums that fall in line with more traditional dusty outsider songwriters such as Oldham, Berman and Kozelek.

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"I Never Had Enough Time With You", taken from his upcoming album Gravity/Repulsion features Muzz from Meercaz on bass and Utrillo from Comets On Fire/Personal and the Pizzas on drums, and is essentially a song about friendship.

He explains that he wrote the song after a vivid dream about meeting some friends who are no longer with us. "I'm still struck by the imagery: some undefined neighborhood on the east coast of America--tall brick buildings, rust colored against blue skies, bright clothing, all smiles. Endless positivity, just having a chat. It was timeless, hallucinatory, perfect.

The song started with a boogie riff as a tribute to Muslim, who played bass on the record. You can't really hear it in the final product, but that started the whole thing. The looser part in the middle I put in there just to hear Utrillo play drums as only he can. I guess I tried to write it to play to the strengths of the band. A tribute to friends all around I suppose."

'Gravity/Repulsion' is available in September.

Michael Beach plays in Melbourne on July 1 at the Old Bar.