Ben Lowes-Smith discovers Dry Cleaning’s new album is an engrossing listen
4AD
Released: 02.04.21
How does one manage sincerity without resorting to platitude in an age of sneering, ironic, post-modernity? On paper Dry Cleaning are something of an anachronism – a guitar band in the art school mould – but New Long Leg is a kinetic, engrossing listen. This is largely down to Florence Shaw’s impressionistic take on writing lyrics – Dry Cleaning provide a kaleidoscope of detail; fragmented imagery creates a vivid, vulgar, beautiful tapestry of 21st Century British life.
First single Scratchcard Lanyard is the tragi-comic internal monologue of the eternally socially anxious with its brutally to the point refrain of “do everything/feel nothing”. Strong Feelings sashays gracefully, coming off like a post-recession Black Box Recorder. It feels like looking at a William Hogarth painting of our bizarre, troubled, ridiculous country.
