'Shelley' - New Single and Music Video from Flora Hibberd
- The Night Temple
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Flora Hibberd has shared “Shelley,” the latest preview of her forthcoming sophomore album, "Mammoth." Produced by Ben Lanz (Beirut, The National), the track pairs brushed drums and gently strummed guitar with twinkling keys, swelling horns, pedal steel, and a chorus that gradually opens into something expansive. The single will arrive ahead of "Mammoth" - due out October 16 via 22TWENTY.
Alongside the single, Hibberd has released a video stitched together from footage captured in Paris and on the road with collaborators Lucien Chatin, Victor Claass, Ben Lanz, and Nils Sørensen. Mixing live performances and studio sessions with quieter moments - knitting backstage, wandering through a park with a melting ice cream cone, and taking in sweeping landscapes - the clip mirrors the song's warmth and understated charm.
“A song for the Shelley in your life, or Duvall, or Percy Bysshe... a boxing match around the kitchen table,” Hibberd says. “Lush country in the creepy sense. Video recorded in Paris and elsewhere in Summer with the pals.”
“Shelley” follows June's lead single “Ache,” which arrived alongside a video directed by Jorge Domingo and the announcement of "Mammoth." The song earned early praise from Rolling Stone, which included it in its 'Songs You Need To Know' roundup, as well as coverage from Under The Radar and The Line Of Best Fit. Featuring backing vocals from Sufjan Stevens, Kate Stables (This Is The Kit), and Lonny, “Ache” trades the guitar-forward palette of Hibberd's earlier work for buoyant synths and layered harmonies. “I love the energy Ben Lanz brought to this track with his joyous synth lines,” Hibberd said. “Sufjan heard the track through Ben and offered to contribute vocals. The part he came up with is pretty stunning... Then Kate Stables's and Lonny's vocals add to its lush texture, all the parts coming together and completing each other.”
The album's title track arrived in May, introducing "Mammoth" with a widescreen folk-pop sound that hinted at the record's broader sonic ambitions. It also earned early support from SiriusXM's XMU Download 15, while Hibberd celebrated its release with performances at The Great Escape.
On "Mammoth," Hibberd pushes beyond the acoustic intimacy of her 2025 debut "Swirl," folding electronic textures, horns, pedal steel, and other new instrumentation into her songwriting. The songs wrestle with contradiction, pairing deceptively warm melodies with lyrics preoccupied by ghosts, time, memory, and the surreal absurdities of modern life. Mythic figures drift through suburban landscapes, mammoths roam neighborhood streets, and the ordinary gradually slips into the uncanny.
"Mammoth" follows "Swirl," which quietly became one of 2025's most celebrated folk-pop debuts, earning widespread critical acclaim and a devoted online following. Produced by Shane Leonard, the album featured musicians whose credits include Bon Iver, Sufjan Stevens, and The Tallest Man On Earth.
Since then, Hibberd has steadily built momentum, from an early BBC Radio 6 Music session at Maida Vale Studios to sharing bills with Kim Deal, Kate Bollinger, Oracle Sisters, and Porridge Radio. Her understated but commanding live presence has made her a natural recommendation for fans of Saya Gray, Aldous Harding, Perfume Genius, and Sufjan Stevens.
FLORA HIBBERD ONLINE
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