A regular in the San Francisco rock scene for two decades, Michael Shaw is now taking a distinct step forward for himself as a solo artist, following years of writing and playing music in bands like Petrol and the Aktion. Under the name An Intimate Evening With Michael Shaw, he will release his debut LP This Is It., a collection of tunes that tips its cap to the legacy of groundwork artists such as the Beatles and the Beach Boys. The music of the former plays a particularly strong role in This Is It.‘s lead number, “Floating Away”, which derives its catchiness from smartly layered vocal harmonies.
Shaw explains more about the song to PopMatters, “To the casual listener, ‘Floating Away’ is a love song — plain and simple. For me, it’s my ode to Jeff Lynne. If you listen closely you’ll hear lyrical and musical references to Jeff Lynne throughout the song. So I suppose you could say it’s my first love song written for a man.”
This Is It. is out on 2 June.