Dry Cleaning are an English

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

band who formed in

South London South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, London Borou ...

in 2017. The band is composed of vocalist Florence Shaw, guitarist Tom Dowse, bassist Lewis Maynard and drummer Nick Buxton. They are noted for their use of

spoken word Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...

primarily in lieu of sung vocals, as well as their unconventional lyrics. Their musical style has been compared to

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Magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

and

Joy Division Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris. Sumner and Hook formed the band after attend ...

. They have been described as "

Annette Peacock Annette Peacock is an American composer, musician, songwriter, producer, and arranger. She is a pioneer in electronic music who combined her voice with one of the first Moog synthesizers in the late 1960s. Biography Annette Peacock was writing ...

fronting the Fall or

PiL Public Image Ltd (abbreviated and stylized as PiL) are an English post-punk band (and incorporated limited company) formed by singer John Lydon (previously known as the singer of Sex Pistols), guitarist Keith Levene, bassist Jah Wobble, and dr ...

Siouxsie and the Banshees Siouxsie and the Banshees were a British rock band formed in London in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bass guitarist Steven Severin. They have been widely influential, both over their contemporaries and with later acts. ''Q'' magazine in ...

". Their debut album ''

New Long Leg ''New Long Leg'' is the debut studio album by English post-punk band Dry Cleaning (band), Dry Cleaning, released in April 2021 on the label 4AD. Produced by John Parish, it received critical acclaim by the press in the UK and the US. Background I ...

'' was released in 2021.

History

Formation

When Lewis Maynard, Tom Dowse and Nick Buxton – old friends whose previous bands had crossed paths in London united to start a new band together in 2017, they did so with the intention of doing so for fun. Rehearsing from the garage at Maynard's mothers house, the trio spent the next few months writing the songs that would ultimately become Dry Cleaning. Vocalist Florence Shaw had met Tom Dowse around 2010 at the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It offe ...

where they both were students, and quickly became friends. Convincing Shaw to join the band took months. The rest of the band members invited her to one of their rehearsals. Drummer Nick Buxton told Shaw she could just talk instead of sing and gave her a playlist that included

Grace Jones Grace Beverly Jones (born 19 May 1948) is a model, singer and actress. Born in Jamaica, she and her family moved to Syracuse, New York, when she was a teenager. Jones began her modelling career in New York state, then in Paris, working for ...

' "

Private Life Private Life may refer to: *life in the private sphere The private sphere is the complement or opposite to the public sphere. The private sphere is a certain sector of societal life in which an individual enjoys a degree of authority, unhampered by ...

" and other similar tracks. She finally accepted and went into rehearsal with "writing from my old drawings, stuff I’d written on my phone, diaries, things I’d seen in adverts and thought were funny" — and read aloud as the other three played their instruments around her. She recalls this moment “like when you see those cheesy films about bands, and they’re writing the hit, and there’s a magic moment.”

"Magic of Meghan", EPs and ''New Long Leg''

The band released their debut single, "Magic of Meghan" in 2019. Shaw wrote the song after going through a break-up and moving out of her former partner's apartment the same day that

Meghan Markle Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (; born Rachel Meghan Markle; August 4, 1981) is an American member of the British royal family and former actress. She is the wife of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, the younger son of King Charles III. Meghan was ...

and

Prince Harry Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984) is a member of the British royal family. He is the younger son of Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. He is fifth in the line of succ ...

announced they were

engaged An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''fi ...

. This was followed by the release of two EPs that year: ''Sweet Princess'' in August and ''Boundary Road Snacks and Drinks'' in October. The band were included as part of the ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' 100 of 2020, as well as ''

DIY "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and semi ...

'' magazine's Class of 2020. The band signed to 4AD in late 2020 and shared a new single, "Scratchcard Lanyard". In February 2021, the band shared details of their debut studio album, ''

''. They also shared the single "Strong Feelings". The album, which was produced by

John Parish John Parish (born 11 April 1959) is an English musician, songwriter, composer and record producer. Parish is best known for his work with singer-songwriter PJ Harvey. He has also worked with such artists as Eels, Aldous Harding, Tracy Chapma ...

, was released on 2 April 2021.

''Stumpwork''

In June 2022, the band announced a new single, "Don't Press Me", which premiered on

BBC Radio 6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC, specialising primarily in alternative music. BBC 6 Music was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years. It is available onl ...

on 14 June. That same day they announced their second album ''

Stumpwork Stumpwork or raised work is a style of embroidery in which the stitched figures are raised from the surface of the work to form a 3-dimensional effect. History The term stumpwork is used to describe a style of raised embroidery which was popu ...

'', which was released on 21 October 2022. As with their debut, the album was recorded at

Rockfield Studios Rockfield Studios is a residential recording studio located in the Wye Valley just outside the village of Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales. It was originally founded in 1963 by brothers Kingsley and Charles Ward. Facilities Rockfield is a two- ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, and produced by

Members

* Florence Shaw – vocals, percussion, tape loops * Lewis Maynard – bass * Tom Dowse – guitar * Nick Buxton – drums, percussion, programming, keyboards, saxophone

Discography

Studio albums

Compilation albums

Extended plays

Singles

Awards and nominations

References

{{authority control 2019 establishments in England Musical groups from London Musical groups established in 2019 Post-punk revival music groups 4AD artists