British post-bunkers Dry Cleaning have a way of combining angular, jagged, rollicking chords, riffs, and drum fills with spoken word vocals that is difficult to describe and even more difficult for anyone to attempt to emulate. Front woman Florence Shaw is one of the wittiest and most enigmatic lyricists out there right now, and her bandmates (Nick Buxton – drums, Tom Dowse – guitar, and Lewis Maynard – bass) are wild craftsmen in their own right. Their first full-length album, New Long Leg, is a cool record that’s a little tighter than their previous EPs, made so by having plenty of time to tweak tracks and explore new sounds thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic cancelling their 2020 tour, but no less intriguing.
Maynard’s bass is something the Delta 5 would love on the opening track, “Scratchcard Lanyard,” while Shaw tells us, “It’s okay, I just need to be weird and hide for a bit and eat an old sandwich from my bag.” Haven’t we all felt like that at some point since March 2020? “Unsmart Lady” starts with a wild cacophony and then settles into a solid rock groove from Dowse that reminds me of good Foreigner tracks. Shaw also lets you know how to find a girlfriend: “If you like a girl, be nice. It’s not rocket science.”
My favorite lyric of Shaw’s on “Strong Feelings” is “That seems like a lot of garlic.” It comes out of nowhere among Buxton’s tight, yet slippery beats. “Leafy” seems to be about a break-up with Shaw singing about cleaning out a house (“What about all the uneaten sausages?”) while her bandmates seem to be playing a different song in another room. This is the kind of song Dry Cleaning does so well. Shaw seems to be doing her own thing while Buxton, Dowse, and Maynard are jamming on their own, but both elements somehow perfectly combine.
It will be a crime if Dry Cleaning doesn’t produce merchandise that reads “More espresso, less depresso.” – a great lyric from the jangly, yet smooth “Her Hippo.” The title track, with its stabbing guitar riffs, has Shaw musing over the idea of going on a cruise while she’s stuck at home due to every travel plan getting cancelled last year. “If you’re an Aries, then I’m an Aries,” Shaw says, perhaps flirtatiously, on “John Wick” – which has nothing to do with an Uber-assassin and more to do with old men griping about things that don’t matter. Dowse’s guitar on it is almost the sound of these men bitching about Antiques Roadshow and the trash truck running late.
Shaw’s vocals sound slightly electronic / robotic on “More Big Birds,” almost turning her into a computer voice. It’s a slight touch, but instantly intriguing. I’d love to know the story behind “ALC” because it starts with Shaw telling someone, “You can’t just come into my garden in your football kit and start asking questions about who lives here. Who’s asking?”
The closer, “Every Day Carry,” is a wild, psychedelic trip that has Dowse, Maynard, and Buxton playing a cool psych-jazz / post-punk blend in a dark club in the back of a former clock factory while Shaw sings / speaks about topics ranging from chocolate chips cookies and imminent domain construction to cab drivers and geese. There’s a great breakdown about halfway through when the band dissolves into a noise rock jam and then kicks back into gear with swirling sounds and Shaw’s voice and lyrics being the eye of their hurricane. It ends like a power outage.
New Long Leg is setting the bar high for other post-punk bands (or any other genre, really) to follow in 2021. Dry Cleaning’s forced vacation did wonders for their creative energy and focus, and for our ears.
Keep your mind open.
[Stretch your legs over to the subscription box while you’re here.]
[Thanks to Jacob at Pitch Perfect PR.]
