The Adobe Flash Player is required to watch videos on this page

The Highbrows

Play All

WNY's finest original piano-driven band

Quick Links
About the Artist
Music
Achievements
Press Coverage
Return to The Highbrows' profile

At-a-Glance
One-Sheet

Hometown	Lockport, NY
Genres	Rock, Indie Rock
Band Members	Dan Dudek - keys; Andy Hasseler - drums; Mike ... » more
Achievements	» more
Upcoming Shows	None

Contact Information:

Expand All Expand All

Expand

About the Artist

Meet The Highbrows, WNY’s finest orginal piano-driven band. Emerging solo artist J.Shaw from Buffalo, NY joined forces with Dan Dudek, Andy Hasseler, and Mike Richardson to create this original elegent indie-pop/rock band. They strive to create a song...

Expand

Music

Play

Your Girl's Little Secret

Photos

Videos

Play

"Paycheck" by The Highbrows

Expand

Achievements

Top 10 in Indie Rock , September 2015

Top 10 in Singer-Songwriter, March 2015

Top 10 in Pop, March 2015

Expand

Press Coverage

MRU Review on Highbrows Frontman, J.Shaw by Music Review Unsigned: J.Shaw - Self-Titled EP
Over the years Buffalo, New York has given birth to an impressive range of musical talent. Acts as diverse as Goo Goo Dolls, Cannibal Corpse and Rick James have called the city home, and now singer-songwriter J. Shaw is emerging as another formidable Buffalonian talent. His self-titled debut EP was released earlier this month and its five tracks display a wide variety of styles and moods befitting the city that produced it. This musical mix makes it difficult to pigeon-hole Shaw. Even the phrase singer-songwriter doesn’t quite fit, as a full band accompanies J. on every track. Still, there’s something home-grown and folky about this music, even at its most polished moments. Shaw’s distinctive voice plays a major part in setting this tone. It’s very expressive and swings from a soft whisper to a husky growl in seconds flat. The opening track I’ve Been Waiting is laid back and upbeat. Shaw’s excellent acoustic guitar playing provides the foundation for this summery tune. It’s got a sort of late 90′s acoustic rock feel to it – Bare naked Ladies spring to mind right off the bat. This is followed by Big Jetplane, a slightly darker, heavier song that shows off another side of Shaw. Again I can’t help thinking of that late 90′s brand of rock (which is not a bad thing at all!). The mood changes from pop rock to chilled lounge music with You’re The One. A sleepy, swinging, syncopated love song, it provides a nice contrast to the more straightforward pop tunes that came before it. Shaw’s guitar playing is really to the fore on this one, and he flexes his musical muscle a bit by throwing in an unexpected change of time signature towards the end. A Day Behind is a great pop song that begins with just Shaw and his guitar and evolves into a big, driving, radio friendly track, reminiscent at times of Goo Goo Dolls and Third Eye Blind. The EP concludes with Your Girl’s Little Secret, a return to that shuffling lounge singer feel. It’s a down tempo lament that nicely showcases the gravely side of Shaw’s voice. J. Shaw’s self-titled EP is a strong first release from an unusual artist. The mix of styles and genres on the record creates a nice contrast from track-to-track, but at the same time makes it difficult to pin down exactly what Shaw is about. The record is generally very well recorded and produced but at times I found myself straining to hear the vocals. Shaw’s soft voice gets lost in the mix from time to time which is a real shame. Overall, however, this EP is a thoroughly enjoyable release that’s well worth checking out. by Philip James.

See More of The Highbrows' Photos

iAnEAqqqq

Video Playback Error

The Highbrows

About the Artist

Music

Photos

Videos

Photos

Videos

Achievements

Press Coverage