Against what seemed to be all odds, beloved indie group Shelly has made a resurgence after a nearly five-year-long hiatus. They’re most notably known for their self-titled EP featuring bedroom pop staples like “Steeeam” and “Natural”; however, the release of their most recent singles has been met with a similar uproar of nostalgic, adoring applause.
At the time of its release, and now steadily as years have passed, their first EP remains incredibly well-regarded. And beyond that, it serves as a true definer of that era of music. Shelly has a uniquely sweet twang to their work, which underscores their sound with all the wonderfully DIY qualities of true bedroom pop. Despite the ever-changing trends and pendulum swings within the music industry, Shelly remains, unequivocally, and unrelentingly themselves. And for that, they’ve achieved a rare quality: timelessness.
Despite the growing impatience within the fan group as they awaited this new release, one cannot deny that a crowd loves a tease, a vanishing act, and the mystique of Shelly, I think, is one of their defining characteristics. This group and all their “there-and-then-not-ness”, is something I feel worth highlighting. They’ve got an allure and immense talent to back it up.
So, without further ado, let’s discuss Shelly 2!
Our main players
The band is composed of four friends. Indie-pop’s darling, Clairo; rising alternative artist, Claud; Josh Melling; and Noah Francis. How did these folks come to meet? As many creatives and collaborators tend to, College. Specifically, Syracuse. Other than that crumb of history in regard to the band, there’s very little publicly recorded information involving their history, commentary, or presence generally. Funnily enough, this anecdote didn’t even come from a formal interview. I found it within a podcast featuring Claud that simply recaps the plot of various tv shows.
The mystery of Shelly
I had the pleasure of seeing Claud live when they opened for Phoebe Bridgers, and of course, as any avid music listener, I am more than familiar with Clairo’s discography. Stupidly, though, as I’ve heard others having a similar experience, I never realized I knew the faces behind Shelly at all. Truthfully, I cannot count the number of times I’ve said “this kind of sounds like Clairo”, or “I feel like I’ve heard this before”, when scrolling through their short rolodex of music. Hold your disappointing scoffs, please, as I feel this admission isn’t simply anecdotal and embarrassing, or at least it isn’t only that.
I followed this band long enough to revel in their presence and beg for more in their absence. I listened, shared, and downloaded their music. I checked in every so often, looking to see if they were going to tour, if they were working on anything new. And yet, I didn’t know anything about them. This group involves one of the biggest names in music right now, and I had no idea. There are no interviews, no podcasts, no evidence of their existence beyond their own, humble Instagram account. Nobody knew why they started, and nobody knew why they, at the time of their disappearance, presumably ended. And it didn’t seem to matter. This is the mystique of Shelly, or what many fans refer to as the magic of Shelly.
Typically, I’d say, to know them is to love them. But in this case, a lack of the former highlights the latter.
“Cross Your Mind”
True to their nature, Shelly’s recent release consists of two singles. Short, dreamy, and sweet as always. Interestingly, unlike their last EP, these songs are listed as singles within their discography. Some fans theorize this is due to the possibility of more music coming soon. And while I admire their eternal optimism, I personally wouldn’t hold my breath. To tease the upcoming release, Clairo welcomed the troupe to the stage during her performance at Coachella, thus sparking conversation surrounding Shelly once again.
The first single, “Cross Your Mind,” sounds like driving with the windows down, like lying out in the grass, like a gust of warm summer wind. But lyrically, it’s a bit dim, discussing a trying time in what sounds to be adolescence. Stealing bottles of liquor from your parents, walking around monotonous suburbia, reminiscing on what used to be, and all the little depressing intricacies in between. A favorite line of mine reads, “Suburbia feels the same as it used to, park the bike, wipe the sweat, what’s it come to?” The song captures the feeling of coming back to your hometown, running into all the people you’d rather not see, and being forced into a moment of choking nostalgia. The sweet, simple vocals juxtapose these themes yet somehow complement them. It’s a beautiful pairing of opposites, and an expert choice by the band.
“Hartwell”
This song reads like a poem and recalls moments we’ve all unfortunately lived through. An immense strength of this group is their authentic relatability. Had another band started their song with an audio clip of a vocalist saying, “I’m recording this while drinking a Baja Blast, so bear with me”, I’d assume it was a performative power play and a poorly acted attempt at relating to the listener. With Shelly, though, it doesn’t feel that way.
The song is simple and follows a recurring pattern of lyrical ebbs and flows. It’s just under three minutes, and both versus mirror each other. They discuss how easy it is to reminisce about adolescence when you’re looking back in adulthood. How certain locations that were once humdrum, every day, pit stops, now look more like landmarks. How certain hobbies or activities that were once just a cure for boredom are now memories you can never quite recreate. Aging out of chapters of your life, for whatever reason, often forces rose colored lenses onto the past. It’s real, and grounded, and something everyone has felt.
Absence is a Gift
If it isn’t obvious enough, I adore Shelly. And with this adoration, I have an immense desire to protect the sanctity of the band and their work. Of course, if they decided to start releasing music as all other artists do: album, tour, album, tour, album tour every two or so years, I’d be ecstatic. But something this group does is highlight the gift of delayed gratification, and undersaturation.
In my opinion, the large expanses of time matched with the limited amount of musical content in each release allow the listener to delve deeper into their work. With their first EP, when I listen to it now, visions of teen-hood completely cover my vision. Dying my hair in my parents’ bathroom, skipping class with my friends senior year, getting my license, all of it was soundtracked by Shelly. Just those two songs alone completely encapsulate that season of my life, and I anticipate the same being true with Shelly 2. Had the band been pumping out music in a more traditional way, I don’t see their impact being as intense.
This group is simply a band of friends, releasing music in the exact way they want to. Without input or pressure from the public, without having to reach certain streaming heights. Simply, creating art for the love of the game. And for that alone, for that rarity, I think this group is worth giving a listen.
