South London's Bobby Wratten and Michael Hiscock formed The Field Mice in 1987. The duo's breathy, wistful sound was ideal for the new imprint Sarah Records, who released their early singles to rapturous acclaim on the UK indie scene. Matching gentle acoustic guitars and intimate vocals to minimal synthesizer washes, the expanded group then released three albums—Snowball, Skywriting and For Keeps—before splitting. Wratten went on to form the even more delicate Northern Picture Library and Trembling Blue Stars.