Album Review: Dry Cleaning dropped debut New Long Leg last month
Through the South London fog, as UK lockdown restrictions eased up and pubs began to serve the ale-starved public, London-based four piece, post-punks, Dry Cleaning released their debut LP, New Long Leg, on April 2. The album sees its release through the much-celebrated 4AD, a record label owned by the UK-based Beggars Group.
Dry Cleaning released a pair of EPs and a series of singles in 2019, cementing anticipation for their first full-length with unique delivery and fresh sound.
New Long Leg kicks off with “Scratchyard Lanyard.” Drum machines (not recognizable from their previous releases) kick in with Nick Buxton’s percussion, then Lewis Maynard’s bass and guitar by Tom Dowse, followed by Florence Shaw’s vocals with a deadpan delivery.
Produced in Wales, at Rockfield Studios, by John Parish (longtime collaborator of PJ Harvey’s), New Long Leg contains depth and texture that adds a certain vibrancy to the album not many acts achieve. Parish’s production chops shine through on this recording.
The catchy instrumentation continues to coil around Florence Shaw’s deadpan delivery of perceptive poetry. In a cynically zombie-fied state, Shaw professes, “Things come to the brain/Too much to ask about/So don’t ask” in “Strong Feelings.”
Throughout New Long Leg, the distinctions between Dry Cleaning’s debut LP and their previous releases become increasingly prominent. A certain satirical element resonates, juxtaposed with the building and release of tension throughout the LP.
Dry Cleaning manages to deliver in an unyielding form without rigidity. Listeners are reminded throughout that the band knows exactly what it is. In a peculiarly, enchanting one-way conversation with a poetic therapist. Shaw’s conveyance of observation establishes an atmosphere for the entire New Long Leg from open to end.
“They’ve really changed the pace of the antique roadshow,” Shaw proclaims in “John Wick,” a line which is in many ways symbolic of Dry Cleaning’s approach to the currently-emerging UK post-punk movement. The band has a unique and refreshing take on a genre within which not-so-subtle distinction is not an effortless feat. This sums up Dry Cleaning’s genius; they’re complex-yet-simple; consequential, but also, lighthearted, and they exude wonderful sounds with such precision, effortlessly.
Grab Dry Cleaning’s New Long Leg at Bandcamp or stream below:
Florence Shaw-Vocals
Lewis Maynard-Bass
Tom Dowse-Guitar
Nick Buxton-Drums
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