Dry Cleaning, photographed in Max Miechowski’s studio in Tottenham, London, on 09/27/2022.
Stumpwork, the sophomore LP from Dry Cleaning, “vibrantly expand[ed] Dry Cleaning’s core sound” (Pitchfork), and became one of last year’s most acclaimed releases, garnering year-end praise from Rolling Stone, Sound Opinions, Uproxx, and many more. Following their performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the UK outfit announce Swampy, a new EP composed of two previously unreleased tracks from the Stumpwork sessions, remixes and a demo, out March 1st on 4AD, and unveil two bonus tracks, “Swampy” and “Sombre Two.” Of the additions, the band says: “These two songs (‘Swampy’ and ‘Sombre Two’) were recorded in the Stumpwork sessions and they feel like good companions to us. They share a dusty, desolate and spacey atmosphere. On the eve of this release we have been touring through the southwest US, where these songs feel at home in the arid, Mars-like landscape of the Arizona desert.”
Also featured on Swampy are remixes from Charlotte Adigéry and Bolis Pupul, recently featured in Pitchfork’s “25 New and Rising Artists Shaping the Future of Music in 2023,” and Nourished By Time, who supported Dry Cleaning on their recently-wrapped North American tour. Swampy will be released digitally and as a limited edition cassette (band store only). Tonight, Dry Cleaning will begin the UK/EU leg of their Stumpwork tour, with full dates listed below. Tickets are on sale now.
DRY CLEANING TOUR DATES Tue. Feb. 21 – Nottingham, UK @ Rock City Wed Feb. 22 – Sheffield, UK @ The Foundry Fri. Feb. 24 – Manchester, UK @ Albert Hall Sat. Feb. 25 – Birmingham, UK @ O2 Institute Sun. Feb. 26 – Bristol, UK @ O2 Academy Tue. Feb. 28 – Cardiff, UK @ Tramshed Wed. March 1 – Brighton, UK @ Chalk – SOLD OUT Fri. March 3 – London, UK @ Roundhouse Mon. Mar. 13 – Copenhagen, DK @ VEGA Wed. Mar. 15 – Stockholm, SE @ Debaser Strand Thu. Mar. 16 – Oslo, NO @ Parkteatret Sat. Mar. 18 – Hamburg, DE @ Knust Sun. Mar. 19 – Groningen, NL @ Vera – SOLD OUT Mon. Mar. 20 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso Tue. March 22 – Offenbach, DE @ Hafen2 Thu. Mar. 23 – Munich, DE @ Strom Fri. Mar. 24 – Vienna, AT @ Flex Sat. Mar. 25 – Prague, CZ @ Futurum Mon. Mar. 27 – Warsaw, PL @ Hybrydy Tue. Mar. 28- Leipzig, DE @ UT Connewitz Wed. Mar. 29 – Berlin, DE @ Festsaal Kreuzberg Fri. Mar. 31 – Rotterdam, NL @ Maassilo Sat. Apr. 1 – Antwerp, BE @ Trix Sat. Aug. 26 – Domaine National de Saint-Cloud, FR @ Rock En Seine
I’d been trying to see Dry Cleaning in concert for a couple years. I was always missing their Chicago sets due to work, and then they had to cancel their appearance at the 2022 Levitation France festival. Now, they and I were finally going to be in Chicago on the same day, so I wasn’t going to miss the show. I’m glad I bought my ticket early, because it was a sold-out performance. I didn’t arrive in time to see Nourished By Time, but Dry Cleaning came out and wasted no time in engaging with their passionate fans.
Starting with “Kwenchy Kups” and then rolling straight into their ode to a lost tortoise (“Gary Ashby”), Dry Cleaning put on a fascinating set. Lead singer Florence Shaw isn’t the most dynamic front woman out there, but that’s kind of the point. She’s the calm in the storm whipped up by her bandmates. Her low tones aren’t without passion, but she’s more of a storyteller than a singer. “Scratchcard Lanyard” and “Viking Hair” are hits not only for Tom Dowse‘s screeching guitar licks (which sound like Andy Gill riffs live), but also for Shaw’s tales of strange things that are so weird that they have to be at least partially true.
There were moments in the show, like in the above image, when Shaw, dressed in her sweatshirt and baggy jeans, and with her straight long hair and perfect fingernails, looked like a wraith in the lights and smoke on stage. This, combined with her smoky voice, and Lewis Maynard‘s thumping bass, was a cool effect – especially during tracks like “Don’t Press Me” and “Conservative Hell.”
Nick Buxton keeps the whole thing from devolving into a spooky haunted house ride by putting down post-punk precision drumming (“Magic of Meghan” being a prime example). The encore included a song Dry Cleaning doesn’t play often, as it’s still fairly new, “Liberty Log.” It was a special treat for all of us.
The whole show was a special treat for their fans. Plenty were dancing, cheering, shouting lyrics, and going wild with every buzzsaw solo Dowse played. It was a good start to my 2023 concert season.
Dry Cleaning share a new single/video, “No Decent Shoes for Rain,” off their upcoming album Stumpwork, out October 21st on 4AD. Following the recently released “Gary Ashby,” the group takes a more somber turn on “No Decent Shoes for Rain.” It begins with Florence Shaw’s vocals coiled tightly over woozy guitar and minimal percussion: “my poor heart is breaking.” Shaw says about the track; “’No Decent Shoes for Rain’ is inspired by grief, grief over past relationships, grief for loved ones who have died, and all the things that come with that; loneliness, numbness, yearning, ruminating about the past.” It shows Dry Cleaning in a more pared back state, not seen in their previous discography. The video is made of footage of the band in the studio at Rockfield and on tour.
Stumpwork was made in the aftermath of the death of two very important people to the band; bassist Lewis Maynard’s mother, and guitarist Tom Dowse’s grandfather. Both were instrumental in the band’s development, both in encouragement and, in the case of Maynard’s mother, literally providing the band with a place to rehearse. Shaw’s lyrics explore not only loss and detachment but all the twists and turns, simple joys and minor gripes of human experience too. Ultimately, what emerges from it all is a subtle but assertive optimism, and a lesson in the value of curiosity. Stumpwork is a heady mix that is entirely the band’s own, distinguishing it from anything produced by their contemporaries.
This fall, Dry Cleaning will tour across Europe. Following, they’ll play in Australia, and then embark on a lengthy run in the US. Then, they’ll return to Europe. Tickets for all shows are on sale now and a full list of dates can be found below.
Today, London-based quartet Dry Cleaning share “Gary Ashby,” the third single from their forthcoming sophomore album, Stumpwork, out October 21st on 4AD, & announce a worldwide headlining tour. “Gary Ashby” follows the travails of a beloved family tortoise lost in lockdown (“Have you seen Gary?”). Loaded with melodious hooks, the 2-minute jangle pop song is “a lament about a pet tortoise, escaped as a result of family chaos,” explains the band. “We wrote it in December 2020, one of the first new songs after the New Long Leg session.”
Tour dates for Dry Cleaning’s forthcoming world tour are listed below and tickets are on sale Wednesday, Sept. 14th at 10am local time. There will be a fan pre-sale for anyone signed up to the Dry Cleaning mailing list on Friday, Sept. 9th at 3pm EST.
Having already started writing their second record before New Long Legwas released, Nick Buxton, Tom Dowse, Lewis Maynard and Florence Shaw returned to Rockfield Studios with producer John Parish with the plan to spend twice as much time on the follow-up. Stumpwork is the result, and it is a heady mix that is entirely the band’s own, distinguishing it from anything produced by their contemporaries. Frontwoman Florence Shaw demonstrated increased spontaneity in the studio, improvising many of her lyrics straight on to the album. The lyrics are almost entirely observational, stemming from sources as varied as a quote from the artist Maggi Hambling, snippets from the press cuttings library of archivist Edda Tasiemka, and more. “I wrote about the things that preoccupied me over this period, like loss, masculinity, feminism, my mum, being separated from my partner for little stretches in the lockdown, lust,” she explains. “There were two murders of women in London that were extensively covered on the news, and the specific details of one of those murders were reported on whilst we were [in the studio]. That coverage influenced some of my writing and my state of mind.”
Stumpwork was made in the aftermath of the death of two very important people to the band as well, bassist Lewis Maynard’s mother, and guitarist Tom Dowse’s grandfather. Both were instrumental in the band’s development, both in encouragement and, in the case of Maynard’s mother, literally providing the band with a place to rehearse. “It’s of course devastating to lose close family members but their legacy in Dry Cleaning is wholly positive,” says Dowse. “The moments in the songs which are upbeat and joyful made me think of them both the most.” The breadth of influences on Stumpwork is dizzying, a definitive rebuke to those who might reduce Dry Cleaning as a post-punk band. Their music is bolder and more expansive, Shaw’s lyrics explore not only loss and detachment but all the twists and turns, simple joys and minor gripes of human experience too. Ultimately, what emerges from it all is a subtle but assertive optimism, and a lesson in the value of curiosity. As Shaw sings on “Kwenchy Kups,” “Things are shit, but they’re gonna be OK.”
DRY CLEANING TOUR DATES (new dates in bold) Sat. Sept. 17 – Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up Sun. Sept. 18 – Los Angeles, US @ Primavera Sound LA Tue. Sept. 20 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel Wed. Sept. 21 – San Jose, CA @ The Ritz Thu. Sept. 22 – Big Sur, CA @ Henry Miller Memorial Library Tue. Nov. 8 – Paris, FR @ Le Trabendo Wed. Nov. 9 – Cologne, DE @ Club Volta Fri. Nov. 11 – Utrecht, NL @ Le Guess Who? Festival Sat. Nov. 12 – Kortrijk, BE @ Sonic City Wed. Nov. 30 – Tokyo, JP @ Liquid Room Thu. Dec. 1 – Osaka, JP @ Club Quattro Tue. Dec. 6 – Auckland, NZ @ Tuning Fork Wed. Dec. 7 – Wellington, NZ @ San Fran Fri. Dec. 9 – Brisbane, AU @ The Brightside Sat. Dec. 10 – Meredith, AU @ Meredith Festival Mon. Dec. 12 – Melbourne, AU @ The Corner Hotel Tue. Dec. 13 – Melbourne, AU @ The Corner Hotel Wed. Dec. 14 – Sydney, AU @ Manning Bar Fri. Dec. 16 – Perth, AU @ Rosemount Hotel Tue. Jan. 10, 2023 – Montreal, QC @ La Tulipe Wed. Jan. 11, 2023 – Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Fri. Jan. 13, 2023 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall Sat. Jan 14, 2023 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line Tue. Jan. 17, 2023 – Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Wed. Jan. 18, 2023 – Seattle, WA @ Neptune Thu. Jan. 19, 2023 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom Sat. Jan. 21, 2023 – San Francisco, CA @ August Hall Mon. Jan. 23, 2023 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom Tue. Jan. 24, 2023 – Tucson, AZ @ Congress Plaza Thu. Jan. 26, 2023 – Dallas, TX @ Texas Theatre Fri. Jan. 27, 2023 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk Sat. Jan. 28, 2023 – New Orleans, LA @ Toulouse Theatre Sun. Jan. 29, 2023 – Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West Tue. Jan. 31, 2023 – Washington, DC @ The Howard Theatre Wed. Feb. 1, 2023 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer Thu. Feb. 2, 2023 – Brooklyn, NY @ Pioneers Works Tue. Feb. 14, 2023 – Dublin, IE @ Vicar Street Wed. Feb. 15, 2023 – Belfast, UK @ Mandela Hall Fri. Feb. 17, 2023 – Glasgow, UK @ Barrowlands Sat. Feb. 18, 2023 – Leeds, UK @ O2 Academy Mon. Feb. 20, 2023 – Liverpool, UK @ Invisible Wind Factory Tue. Feb. 21, 2023 – Nottingham, UK @ Rock City Wed Feb. 22, 2023 – Sheffield, UK @ O2 Academy Fri. Feb. 24, 2023 – Manchester, UK @ Albert Hall Sat. Feb. 25, 2023 – Birmingham, UK @ O2 Institute Sun. Feb. 26, 2023 – Bristol, UK @ O2 Academy Tue. Feb. 28, 2023 – Cardiff, UK @ Tramshed Wed. March 1, 2023 – Brighton, UK @ Chalk Fri. March 3, 2023 – London, UK @ O2 Academy Brixton Mon. Mar. 13, 2023 – Copenhagen, DK @ VEGA Wed. Mar. 15, 2023 – Stockholm, SE @ Debaser Strand Thu. Mar. 16, 2023 – Oslo, NO @ Parkteatret Sat. Mar. 18, 2023 – Hamburg, DE @ Knust Sun. Mar. 19, 2023 – Groningen, NL @ Vera Mon. Mar. 20, 2023 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso Tue. March 22, 2023 – Offenbach, DE @ Hafen2 Thu. Mar. 23, 2023 – Munich, DE @ Strom Fri. Mar. 24, 2023 – Vienna, AT @ Flex Fri. Mar. 25, 2023 – Prague, CZ @ Futurum Mon. Mar. 27, 2023 – Warsaw, PL @ Hybrydy Tue. Mar. 28, 2023 – Leipzig, DE @ UT Connewitz Wed. Mar. 29, 2023 – Berlin, DE @ Festsaal Kreuzberg Fri. Mar. 31, 2023 – Rotterdam, NL @ Maassilo Sat. Apr. 1, 2023 – Antwerp, BE @ Trix
Keep your mind open.
[Like Gary Ashby, you’re missing…from the subscription box.]
London-based band Dry Cleaning announce their sophomore album, Stumpwork, out October 21st, and share the lead single/video, “Don’t Press Me.” Stumpwork is the follow-up to New Long Leg, their debut full-length and one of 2021’s best albums (a top 10 album of the year, according to The New York Times, Pitchfork, SPIN, The Atlantic, The Ringer, and more). The new album was inspired by a plethora of events, concepts and political debacles, be they represented in the icy mess of ambient elements reflecting a certain existential despair, or the surprising warmth in celebrating the lives of loved ones lost through the previous year. Surrealist lyrics are as ever at the forefront – but there is a sensitivity now to the themes of family, money, politics, self-deprecation and sensuality. Furious indie-pop anthems combine across the record with psych and prog influences, demonstrating the wealth of influences the band feed off and their deep musicality.
Clocking in at under 2 minutes, today’s “Don’t Press Me” is about the pleasure of gaming and the enjoyment of intense and short-lived guilt-free experiences. Vocalist Florence Shaw also says, “The words in the chorus came about because I was trying to write a song to sing to my own brain, ‘You are always fighting me / You are always stressing me out.’” Its animated video was created by Peter Millard, whose naïve depictions of the band is perfectly in sync with the song’s hooks and riffs.
Stumpwork follows New Long Leg, Dry Cleaning’s debut album that became a huge critical and commercial success, reaching #4 in the UK Album Charts and featuring in best-of-2021 polls across the board. Buoyed by its success, Nick Buxton (drums), Tom Dowse (guitar), Lewis Maynard (bass) and Florence Shaw (vocals) returned to rural Wales in late 2021, partnering once more with Parish and engineer Joe Jones. Working from a position of trust in the same studio and with the same team, imposter syndrome and anxiety was replaced by a fresh freedom and openness to explore beyond an already rangy sonic palette, a newfound confidence in their creative vision. A longer period in the studio afforded the time to experiment, improvise, play, and sharpen their table tennis skills. With the pressure of their debut album behind them, Dry Cleaning have crafted an ambitious and deeply rewarding new work that marks them out as one of the most intelligent and exciting acts to come out of the UK.
The album and single artwork were conceived and created by multi-disciplinary artists Rottingdean Bazaar and photographer Annie Collinge. James Theseus Buck and Luke Brooks of Rottingdean Bazaar first worked with Dry Cleaning directing the official video for “Scratchcard Lanyard” and as their creative partnership with the band continues to flourish, they have fashioned a brilliantly unique visual identity for Stumpwork.
London-based band Dry Cleaning release a new single, “Anna Calls From The Arctic,” off their highly-anticipated sophomore album, Stumpwork, out October 21st on 4AD. On “Anna Calls From The Arctic,” Florence Shaw narrates an off-kilter conversation with a distant friend. The track is whacked-out and otherworldly. “The lyrics were partly inspired by phone calls with a friend who was living and working in the Arctic,” explain the band. ”The song developed from a keyboard, bass and clarinet jam. This then took shape during our pre-recording sessions with John Parish and Joe Jones in Bristol and finalized at Rockfield studios a month later, with some musical inspiration coming from the dramatic scores of John Barry. The song is observational and sensual.” Today’s visualizer features the band’s drummer, Nick Buxton, displaying perfect form while skating backwards.
Having already started writing their second record before 2021’s acclaimed New Long Leg was released, they proposed to producer John Parish that they spend twice as much time on the follow-up. Listen to the album and you can feel that increased boldness – vocals which coil tightly around deft and complex riffs, great meshes of instrumental texture and the willingness to launch into full-on abstraction. It is a heady mix that is entirely Dry Cleaning’s own, distinguishing it from their contemporaries.
Shaw demonstrated increased spontaneity in the studio, improvising many of her lyrics straight on to the album. The lyrics are almost entirely observational. There is one quote from the artist Maggi Hambling on the woozy title track, text from an old Macintosh computer virus on “Don’t Press Me,” and snippets from the press cuttings library of archivist Edda Tasiemka scattered throughout, but the use of ‘found lyrics’ employed in the band’s early years is now far in the past. “I wrote about the things that preoccupied me over this period, like loss, masculinity, feminism, my mum, being separated from my partner for little stretches in the lockdown, lust,” she continues, preoccupations from which wider political and social commentary emerges. “I think if you make something observational, which I think I do, it’s political,” Shaw says. “There were two murders of women in London that were extensively covered on the news, and the specific details of one of those murders were reported on whilst we were at Rockfield. That coverage influenced some of my writing and my state of mind.” The band’s instrumentation, too, may well reflect our increasingly bleak socio-political landscape, the way it can pick up intense and urgent momentum, or zone out into icy detachment.
The band’s loss of a number of loved family members over the last year would also have an impact on Stumpwork. Among them was bassist Lewis Maynard’s mother Susan, at whose home the band rehearsed in their early days, the location of which inspired the name of their debut EPBoundary Road Snacks And Drinks. On the day that the band appeared on Later With Jools Holland, she was in hospital and unable to receive visitors due to coronavirus restrictions. “It felt special that what we had achieved from the first record, could still entertain her and communicate with her while no one could see her,” says Maynard. New Long Leg was released a week before she passed away, so she was able to see it reach number four in the charts. “The success of the band became a distraction for the whole family while grieving. And it gave even more importance to what we are doing,” Maynard adds.
Stumpwork was made in the aftermath – they were in the studio writing the day before Susan died – but from their grief they found fuel for the record’s most joyous elements. “I see the album as a celebration of what she gave us and a reflection of how fortunate we were to know her,” says Buxton. Guitarist Tom Dowse also lost his grandfather who was extremely proud of the band’s success. “It’s of course devastating to lose close family members but their legacy in Dry Cleaning is wholly positive,” he says. “The moments in the songs which are upbeat and joyful made me think of them both the most.”
The breadth of influences on Stumpwork is dizzying, a definitive rebuke to those who might reduce Dry Cleaning as a post-punk band. Their music is bolder and more expansive, Shaw’s lyrics explore not only loss and detachment but all the twists and turns, simple joys and minor gripes of human experience too. Ultimately, what emerges from it all is a subtle but assertive optimism, and a lesson in the value of curiosity. As Shaw sings on “Kwenchy Kups,” “Things are shit, but they’re gonna be OK.”
DRY CLEANING TOUR DATES Sun. July 31 – Thirsk, UK @ Deer Shed Festival Sat. Aug. 6 – Katowic, PL @ OFF Festival Thu. Aug. 11 – Haldern, DE @ Haldern Pop Festival Fri. Aug. 19 – Crickhowell, UK @ Green Man Festival Thu. Aug. 25 – London, UK @ All Points East Sat. Aug. 27 – Manchester, UK @ Depot Mayfield w/ The National Sat. Sept. 17 – Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up Tavern Sun. Sept. 18 – Los Angeles, US @ Primavera Sound LA Tue. Sept. 20 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel Wed. Sept. 21 – San Jose, CA @ The Ritz Thu. Sept. 22 – Big Sur, CA @ Henry Miller Memorial Library Tue. Nov. 8 – Paris, FR @ Le Trabendo Wed. Nov. 9 – Cologne, DE @ Club Volta Fri. Nov. 11 – Utrecht, NL @ Le Guess Who? Festival Sat. Nov. 12 – Kortrijk, BE @ Sonic City
London-based band Dry Cleaning continues their incredible year with a spring 2022 North American tour. Their debut album, New Long Leg, out now via 4AD, is one of 2021’s most praised albums thus far, championed by The New York Times, Pitchfork, New Yorker, Entertainment Weekly, and more. Since its release, the band has completely sold out their US fall run, which starts this Wednesday at Los Angeles’ Teragram Ballroom. The spring 2022 leg will see the band visiting many US cities for the first-time ever. Tickets for these shows will go on sale Friday, Nov. 12th at 12pm EST, but will be sure to sell out quickly, so the band is offering a pre-sale to all subscribers of their mailing list, which will be live Wednesday, Nov. 10th at 10am EST.. A full list of dates can be found below.
DRY CLEANING TOUR DATES (new dates in bold) Wed. Nov. 10 – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom – SOLD OUT Thu. Nov. 11 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel – SOLD OUT Sat. Nov. 13 – Portland, OR @ Vitalidad Movement Arts Center – SOLD OUT Sun. Nov. 14 – Seattle, WA @ Neptune Theater – SOLD OUT Tue. Nov. 16 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle – SOLD OUT Wed. Nov. 17 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle – SOLD OUT Fri. Nov. 19 – Brooklyn, NY @ Market Hotel – SOLD OUT Sat. Nov. 20 – Brooklyn, NY @ Market Hotel – SOLD OUT Sat. Nov. 27 – Nottingham, UK @ Nottingham Arena ^ Tue. Nov. 30 – Cardiff, UK @ Tramshed ^ Wed. Dec. 1 – Hebden Bridge, UK @ Trades Club – SOLD OUT ^ Thu. Dec. 2 – Norwich, UK @ Norwich Arts Centre – SOLD OUT ^ Fri. Dec. 3 – Brighton, UK @ The Dome ^ Wed. Jan. 19, 2022 – Paris, FR @ La Maroquinerie * Thu. Jan. 20, 2022 – Lyon, FR @ Le Périscope * Fri. Jan. 21, 2022 – Milan, IT @ Circolo Magnolia * Sat. Jan. 22, 2022 – Bologna, IT @ Covo Club * Mon. Jan. 24, 2022 – Vienna, AT @ Chelsea * Tue. Jan. 25, 2022 – Prague, CZ @ Futurum * Wed. Jan. 26, 2022 Berlin, DE @ SO 36* Fri. Jan. 28, 2022 – Copenhagen, DK @ Loppen – SOLD OUT * Sat. Jan. 29, 2022 – Hamburg, DE @ Molotow * Mon. Jan. 31, 2022 – Nijmegen, NL @ Doornroosje * Tue. Feb. 1, 2022 – Brussels, BE @ Orangerie, Botanique * Wed. Feb. 2, 2022 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso Noord – SOLD OUT * Fri. Feb. 4, 2022 – Rotterdam, NL @ Rotown – SOLD OUT * Sat. Feb. 5, 2022 – Tourcoing (Lille), FR @ Le Grand Mix * Mon. Feb. 14, 2022 – Liverpool, UK @ Arts Club Theatre % Tue. Feb. 15, 2022 – Dublin, IE @ The Button Factory – SOLD OUT % Wed. Feb. 16, 2022 – Belfast, IE @ Empire Music Hall % Fri. Feb. 18, 2022 – Edinburgh, UK @ Summerhall – SOLD OUT % Sat. Feb. 19, 2022 – Glasgow, UK @, Queen Margaret Union (Venue upgrade) % Sun. Feb. 20, 2022 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club – SOLD OUT % Tue. Feb. 22, 2022 – Birmingham, UK @ The Mill % Wed. Feb. 23, 2022 – Bristol, UK @ Marble Factory % Fri. Feb. 25, 2022 – Manchester, UK @ Academy 2 – SOLD OUT % Sat. Feb. 26, 2022 – Sheffield, UK @ Leadmill % Sun. Feb. 27, 2022 – Nottingham, UK @ Rescue Rooms – SOLD OUT % Tue. March 1, 2022 – Portsmouth, UK @ Wedgewood Rooms % Wed. March 2, 2022 – Brighton, UK @ Concorde 2 – SOLD OUT % Thu. March 3, 2022 – London, UK @ O2 Forum Kentish Town % Wed. March 30 – Leicester, UK @ O2 Academy & Thu. March 31 – Cambridge, UK @ The Junction & Fri. April 1 – Manchester, UK @ Strage Waves @ The Ritz Sat. April 2 – Newcastle, UK @ Boiler Shop & Thu. May 12 – Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern Fri. May 13 – Montreal, QC @ Théâtre Fairmount Sun. May 15 – Somerville, MA @ Crystal Ballroom Tue. May 17 – Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church Wed. May 18 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall Thu. May 19 – Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar Fri. May 20 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle Sat. May 21 – Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West Mon. May 23 – Houston, TX @ Satellite Tue. May 24 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada Wed. May 25 – Austin, TX @ Hotel Vegas Sat. May 28 – Mexico City, Mexico @ Palacio de los Deportes w/ Interpol
Dry Cleaningis “one of the most exciting bands in rock” (Rolling Stone). Earlier this spring, they released their debut album New Long Leg via 4AD, which has already become one of the best records of 2021 thus far. Following praise from The New York Times, Pitchfork, Entertainment Weekly, The FADER, Esquire, and more, and preceding their completely sold out fall US tour, they today present a special one-off double A-side single, “Bug Eggs” b/w “Tony Speaks!” Recorded at Rockfield Studios in July and August 2020 during the same session for New Long Leg, “Bug Eggs” and “Tony Speaks!” were previously only available in an expanded Japanese edition of the album. Explaining the two tracks Florence Shaw says, “’Bug Eggs’ is about the confidence that comes with age, fragility and sexual desire. The lyrics to ‘Tony Speaks!’ were written days after the Conservative party won the December 2019 UK election. I was thinking about climate change, environmental catastrophes and political campaigning.”
Born from the combined creative talents of Nick Buxton (drums), Tom Dowse (guitar), Lewis Maynard (bass) and Florence Shaw (vocals), Dry Cleaning’s debut album New Long Leg was produced by John Parish at Rockfield Studios and features the singles “Scratchcard Lanyard,” “Strong Feelings” and “Unsmart Lady.” Intertwining Shaw’s spoken vocals tightly with the band’s restless instrumentals they extract the meaning from the most trivial things; little witty asides about supermarkets, cupboards, beauty products and body parts add up to sonic landscapes that teem with the strange magic of ordinary life.
Last month, London-based band Dry Cleaning released New Long Leg, their 4AD debut and one of 2021’s most praised albums thus far. The album was immediately met with much fanfare and glowing reviews from Pitchfork(Best New Music), The New York Times, NPR Music, Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, Bandcamp, and more. Today, they announce a fall tour in support of New Long Leg. Dry Cleaning will play select shows across the states, performing for the first time ever in San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, and Chicago, plus return appearances in Los Angeles and Brooklyn. Following in early 2022, the band will tour Europe and the UK. Their live energy was previewed during their television debut on Later…with Jools Holland earlier this year, plus their 2021 KEXP session.
Dry Cleaning is Nick Buxton (drums), Tom Dowse (guitar), Lewis Maynard(bass) and Florence Shaw (vocals). Buoyed by the universal acclaim they received for 2019 EPs “Boundary Road SnacksandDrinks” and “Sweet Princess,” New Long Leg “arrives fully formed, ready to evacuate the contents of your brain and replace them with the odd images, bizarre obsessions, vivid sense memories, and banal judgements that live rent-free in the mind of another” (Pitchfork).
Released not long after their first EP, Sweet Princess, Dry Cleaning‘s Boundary Road Snacks and Drinksfurther intrigued post-punk fans in the United Kingdom and around the world with its hypnotic, mostly spoken-word lyrics and wild, angular sounds.
The Cure-like bass of “Dog Proposal” gives way to jangly guitars and vocals about working one hundred-hour weeks and trying to break out of the daily grind (“I’ve joined a gym near the office!”) seem to come from a different place, physically and mentally, than the instruments. “Viking Hair” is a story of a stunning woman who’s “a tragic heroine” when it comes to her love life. The band throws Joy Division guitars at you while the lyrics grab you by the back of your brain.
“I’m cool with spoils,” sings Florence Shaw on “Spoils” while Lewis Maynard lays down a great, heavy bass line and Tom Dowse‘s guitar tilts back and forth between buzzsaw and police car siren. “Stream, stream, stream my favorite shows. Just tell me who dies and who finds love,” Shaw sings / speaks. Even she is tired of the endless scrolling of streaming TV.
“Jam after School” is a weird and cool mix of school gossip and what sounds like a clinic on how to create a good post-punk single. “Sombre One” has an appropriate title, as it’s just Shaw’s sparse vocals (“Can’t seem to get out of bed easy.”, “Snacks and drinks, closed space, get rid of photos.”, “Move into the caravan park and be done with it.”), Dowse’s sparse guitar notes, Nick Buxton‘s hand percussion, and strange samples. The closer “Sit Down Meal” has Shaw stating, “You’re nothing but a fragrance to me now.” I’m not sure which is harsher: Her verbal smackdown or the band’s killer, almost swaggering hooks and chops.
It’s a sharp EP that left everyone clamoring for more material from Dry Cleaning. Thankfully, New Long Leg came out earlier this year.
Keep your mind open.
[Bound on over to the subscription box while you’re here.]
