Shoestrings

Michigan duo Shoestrings originated in the mid-'90s when high school friends Mario Suau and Rose Uytuico launched their twee-leaning indie pop endeavor. Peak activity arrived during the late '90s, as the pair drew inspiration from sensitive Sarah Records acts and issued one LP before redirecting energy toward separate ventures. Throughout subsequent years Suau and Uytuico sustained their friendship and occasional collaborations, yet returned in earnest to fresh Shoestrings compositions during the mid-2010s, completing the album Expectations in 2021—more than two decades after their debut appeared.

The pair first convened in the Detroit suburb of Sterling Heights and began making music together during early-'90s high school as contributors to a friend’s dour, goth-tinged project. Preferring indie pop and the wistful textures of Prefab Sprout, Suau and Uytuico departed that ensemble to establish Shoestrings. They constructed a bedroom recording studio, sharpening production abilities on material that fused twee and sophisti-pop ingredients while incorporating electronic and programmed components. Their initial outing was a two-song 7" for Sunday Records; across the decade they supplied tracks to numerous compilations before releasing the debut full-length Wishing on Planes in 1997.

With the arrival of the 2000s their attention turned toward production work, placing Shoestrings on hold in favor of Invisible Twin, a somewhat more electronic outlet for the duo that frequently took shape as remixes for fellow artists. Remaining close friends, Suau and Uytuico resumed Shoestrings sessions in 2015; in September 2021 they unveiled the lead single from Expectations, their first album in 24 years. Shelflife issued Expectations that November.