Shaw explains the album’s origins in his own words, calling the record “a collection of songs about friends, family and foes. It materialized in a small cottage on the Antrim Coast in my native Northern Ireland,” he shared. “Each song focuses on one of a cast of characters in my life; the obsessive possessive, the alcoholic husband, the lonely love-seeker, the underdog….the, well…you get the idea. I reluctantly formed the band after a drunken night with Kenny – our drummer. He heard some piano demos I had done and suggested I form a band with me playing piano. I told myself I would only go ahead with it if I could get Eli to play guitar and Colin to play bass. Still not sure why, but they said yes.”
Michael continues: “We recorded it on the flanks of a mountain overlooking the Pacific Ocean days after my mother died of cancer. I poured my sorrow into every song. I named the record ‘This Is It.’ because I thought it perfectly described a pivotal moment for me – was it the presentation of something new or the nail in the coffin? My best vocals on this record were probably done as I washed down the final sips of my second martini. Grey Goose, Up. Dirty. Twist.”
“During the recording process, if we came to a fork in the road, we either used Brian Eno’s oblique strategies or we asked ourselves WWTSD? (what would taylor swift do?) and then did the exact opposite.”
A unique formula, but one which clearly works. Listen to This Is It in full below, exclusively on Crave:
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Photo: Francis Baker
