CD of The Week

The first two albums from South London quartet Dry Cleaning established the band as one of the more unique artists to emerge from the UK in the last decade. Florence Shaw’s droll, spoken-word vocals paired with bass-forward (courtesy of Lewis Maynard), semi-experimental arrangements proved to be an exciting combination, but it may have also pigeonholed the band in some ways. Thus, Dry Cleaning have deliberately shaken things up for their third record, Secret Love, hashing out song ideas with pals such as Gilla Band and Jeff Tweedy and enlisting baroque singer-songwriter Cate Le Bon to produce the album. The result is a great expansion of their sound without losing the distinctive qualities that brought the band acclaim.

The first two songs, “Hit My Head All Day” and “Cruise Ship Designer” are more of a piece with Dry Cleaning’s previous work with jagged, funky instrumentation and Shaw’s quirky observations front and center. Hilarious lines abound, including when Shaw insists that her cruise ship designer narrator makes “sure there are hidden messages in my work.” The third track, “My Soul / Half Pint” (which apparently was the song with the most Tweedy input) shifts gears, emphasizing a jangly riff while Shaw explores the exhausting impact of misogyny.

Meanwhile, “Let Me Go and See the Fruit” contains some genuinely pretty, acoustic finger-picking from guitarist Tom Dowse, while “Rocks” somehow manages to evoke both power pop and Ministry with a swaggering opening that morphs into a song dominated by the harsh, mechanical drumming of Nick Buxton. “Blood” is probably the highlight of the entire album, with a propulsive and ever-changing arrangement that smartly complements Shaw’s powerful, paranoid lyrics (“Pilgrimage, private life, mortality / deep shock felt in the body”). The closing track, “Joy,” is also impressive as (aptly) the brightest, sprightliest song in Dry Cleaning’s catalog, but the sentiments are more bittersweet than naively optimistic. Shaw and her bandmates may let in some light, but they are too observant to completely shed their skepticism towards the world around them.

Secret Love is a clear triumph and the most accessible and diverse Dry Cleaning album yet. The band and their collaborators have pushed themselves out of the confining box of post-punk to become a more versatile outfit, but the sardonic sensibility of Shaw and the subversive playfulness of the instrumentation remain intact. The album both proves the band’s status as one of the most interesting bands in indie rock and sets a high bar for the remaining releases in 2026.

Dry Cleaning return to Philadelphia with a stop at Union Transfer on Wednesday, May 6th.