posted by Leigh on June 15, 2011
I like to think of myself as relatively well-traveled, but I have never heard of nor been to the Isle of Wight. The Isle of Wight is England’s largest island, was an independent kingdom in and of itself in the 5th Century and was called home by both Alfred Lloyd Tennyson and Queen Victoria. The Beatles song “When I’m 64” refers to a cottage there and Bob Dylan recorded several songs while on the Isle of Wight. Thank you, Wikipedia.
What Wikipedia did not tell me is that the Isle has been harboring its very own indie-rock secret, The Shutes, for quite some time now. With a timeless sound and discussion-worthy lyrics unabashedly informed by the isolation of living and making music on a historically-rich and fundamentally picturesque island, The Shutes manage to craft their music in such a way as to touch a broader audience. Their music is driven, with bass, guitar and drums all equally leading the way, complementing each other in the sometimes surfy path of their collaboration, lightened by the haunting, plaintive and androgenous vocals of frontman Michael Champion.
Hear them for yourself. From their EP, Hits Like Mourning, self-released late last year, to their new track “Silk Screen Shots,” recently released as a free download, to their brand-new single “Noah’s Arc” released just last month on London’s Cross Key Records, you have no shortage of material to peruse. (And the vid for “Noah’s Arc” below is pretty cool as well.) Here’s hoping that when these guys need a getaway from the Isle, that they will make their way across the Atlantic, or to wherever you may be.
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The Shutes – Silk Screen Shots (Downloaded 338 times)
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» Meaningless labels: Beautiful Lyrics • Brit-Pop • Driven • Male vocal • Rollicking • Surf
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July 1st, 2011 at 8:25 am
Fell out of bed feeling down. This has bigrhtneed my day!
July 2nd, 2011 at 2:28 pm
Good to see a talent at work. I can’t match that.