The Shutes

The Shutes came out of London's late-1990s underground, originally calling themselves The Sesame Seed before settling on the name that would stick. Their debut single 'Bright Blue Berlin Sky' arrived in 2000 and found an audience with its hazy, melodic pull. They followed it with songs like 'Echo Of Love' and put out an album called 'Paralyzed' in 2001.

The band's sound had a gauzy, layered quality that drew from shoegaze and ethereal wave, with Rowan Lee's vocals floating over textured guitars and steady rhythms. They released two more albums, 'Caesura' in 2003 and 'Ghost Days' in 2006, each leaning further into a darker, more atmospheric direction. Their lineup included Lee on vocals and guitar, Oliver Ackermann on bass and guitar, and Timothy Flower on drums.

They were known for being a bit elusive and didn't always play by the industry's rules, which sometimes rubbed critics and some fans the wrong way. Rumors about internal tensions followed them, but they kept making music on their own terms until they eventually stopped. Their records, especially those early singles, still turn up in conversations about that turn-of-the-century indie sound.