Dry Cleaning

Combining Florence Shaw's detached spoken word vocals with intense post-punk instrumentation, Dry Cleaning's music contrasts the surreal and the mundane. The South London band introduced their taut, swaggering sound with EPs such as 2019's Meghan Markle-referencing Sweet Princess, then took a more expansive approach on 2021's debut album New Long Leg.
Dry Cleaning formed in 2017 when guitarist Tom Dowse, bassist Lewis Maynard, and drummer Nick Buxton got together to play instrumental post-punk inspired by the likes of the Feelies, the Clean, and the B-52's. By 2018, Shaw (also a visual artist and university lecturer) had joined and added her deadpan vocal stylings to the mix. The group made their recorded debut with July 2019's single "Magic of Meghan," a song combining Shaw's feelings about a recent breakup and Meghan Markle. The EP Sweet Princess arrived in August, followed by the Boundary Road Snacks and Drinks EP that October. Late in 2020, Dry Cleaning signed to 4AD and issued the single "Scratchcard Lanyard." The song also appeared on April 2021's full-length New Long Leg, which they recorded with producer John Parish. The band also appeared on the label's 2021 benefit cover compilation Bills & Aches & Blues, contributing their version of Grimes' "Oblivion." ~ Heather Phares & Rich Wilson