Dry Cleaning @ SWG3, Glasgow, 24 Apr

Dry Cleaning have picked a good day to come to Glasgow. Undoubtedly the sunniest day of the year so far, there are no spare seats to be found outside of the Finnieston pubs neighbouring SWG3. Though it's tempting to stay outside and soak up the sun, it feels entirely necessary to make it through the doors in time to catch Tony Bontana, who is on supporting duties for the evening.

An up-and-coming rapper who proudly parades his Birmingham identity, Bontana releases music at a frightening rate (for reference, it’s April, and Bontana has already released two full-length albums this year). Picking out whichever instrumentals tickle his fancy on his laptop, he careens through his already extensive back catalogue, switching between grime, hip-hop and rap throughout. Bontana’s impressive energy isn’t exactly reciprocated by the somewhat stiff gaggle of 6Music Dads gathered in front of him, though the resounding cheer the Brummie rapper receives at the end of his set suggests that his efforts were appreciated.

A rather quick turnaround ensues, and Dry Cleaning emerge promptly after Bontana. The stragglers at the bar don’t hang around for long, though. Vocalist Florence Shaw assumes the role of the Pied Piper of Glasgow, leading the west end crowd towards the stage with the droll sound of the band’s latest single, Sliced by a Fingernail. Hits including Gary Ashby and Scratchard Lanyard soon follow, and the group are in fine fettle as they thrash through tracks from their latest album, Secret Love.

Image: Dry Cleaning @ SWG3, Glasgow, 24 Apr by Marilena Vlachopoulou

Lead singers are often described as being ‘enigmatic’, though in Shaw’s case the word feels particularly fitting. Twisting and turning her way around the mic stand, Shaw often closes her eyes as she delivers each line with a delicate sensibility, creating an engrossing spectacle for an audience who cling to her every word throughout the gig. Only once does Shaw snap out of her trance-like state, bursting out with nervous laughter before she can deliver the line about ‘well fired rolls’ in the track Evil Evil Idiot, afraid she might offend the Scottish crowd by appropriating our breakfast roll culture.

Though Shaw’s unique vocal delivery is the most immediately noticeable element of the band’s music, the live experience helps to drive home just how solid Dry Cleaning are sonically. Flanking Shaw are bassist Lewis Maynard and guitarist Tom Dowse, both of whom make light work of some rather technical backing tracks. Maynard spends the evening headbanging as he injects a real hit of volume into every song, including those that sound stripped back on record. Dowse, a voracious South Londoner, acts as the band’s compère throughout, at one point warning the crowd "if you’re wearing any incontinence pads, ring ‘em out now!" before launching into one of the evening's heavier tracks.

The penultimate song of the night, Let Me Grow and You’ll See the Fruit, is arguably the most serene, uplifting track in Dry Cleaning’s discography. The song takes on a new beauty when played live, as the audience hums Shaw’s hushed vocals back to her. The band proceeds to break into something of a jam session during the evening’s closer, Conversation, before reappearing for an encore performance of Hit My Head All Day, met with thunderous applause. The sun has set by the time the crowd file out onto the Clydeside, and the time for sitting outside the pub has probably passed, though everyone here knows they made the right call.