Dry Cleaning – Secret Love
On Dry Cleaning’s third full-length, Florence Shaw returns to her usual writerly concerns while expanding her methods of delivery
'I make sure there are hidden messages in my work', goes Florence Shaw’s now-familiar deadpan from the POV of a cruise ship designer, a profession so absurdly specific you question if Dry Cleaning didn’t already have a song on this subject. Whether Shaw is merely vocalising the inner monologue of her chosen character, or hinting towards the riddle of her enigmatic lyrics, being able to reflect your own meaning in her gnomic intonations is their strength. On the band’s third full-length, Shaw returns to her usual writerly concerns while expanding her methods of delivery.
However, Secret Love feels like a sonic holding pattern. One of the easiest criticisms to level at Dry Cleaning early on was wondering how many tricks Shaw’s bandmates could sprinkle around her expanding lyrical worlds. On their underrated Stumpwork though, they found surprising ways to provide setting, but their and Cate Le Bon’s production choices here are mostly safe. The album’s second side starts meaner, muddying the palette nicely, while the shuffling, pretty I Need You’s electronic elements are a breath of fresh air. Hopefully they can subvert like that again while Shaw continues to hone her weapon.
Listen to: Hit My Head All Day, Evil Evil Idiot, I Need You