(L-R) Lewis Maynard, Nick Buxton, Florence Shaw, Tom Dowse (Photo by Steve Gullick).
by Dan Moffat
One of the most exciting developments to happen in guitar music is the current wave of spoken-word post-punk bands mostly from England. I’m talking about groups like Dry Cleaning, Yard Act, and Wet Leg. Stateside we have Cheekface; Ireland has Silverbacks. Dry Cleaning have stood out from the pack due to their enigmatic frontwoman Florence Shaw, along with the intensely catchy instrumental progressions crafted by guitarist Tom Dowse, bassist Lewis Maynard, and drummer Nick Buxton.
Dry Cleaning has been touring their 2021 album New Long Leg since last July. In between legs of their tour, they’ve been busy writing and recording their follow up LP. We gabbed with guitarist Tom Dowse ahead of their upcoming show in Somerville on May 15th.
“Someone said that when you see us live you can see the metal in it more. We’re heavier live.” A metalhead at heart, Dowse is big into the doom sub genre, the band Sleep, as well as late 80’s thrash metal such as Nuclear Assault. Dowse says he’s excited to play in Massachusetts, where some of his favorite metal acts are from, such as local legends Orchid and Converge.
They’ve been riding the momentum of their breakthrough post-punk single “Scratchyard Lanyard,” which generated instant success upon release in 2020. Dowse says Scratchyard Lanyard “opened up a little window into the world” for the band because of its popularity. The music video, directed by Rottingdean Bazaar, also struck a chord with audiences worldwide. Dowse’s window metaphor is apt; as singer Florence Shaw looks through a window.
Before their debut album New Long Leg dropped, Dry Cleaning established their reputation as a solid live band via their electric performance on KEXP Radio. But it very easily could have never happened. The KEXP spot was recorded on March 10th 2020, mere days before lockdown.
Says Dowse, “That KEXP session we did was miraculous, really. The circumstances around it, and what it did for us, the exposure we got from that. It was before [New Long Leg] came out and the KEXP session was the thing people knew about us the most.” Check out the song “Magic of Meghan,” a song about the end of a long-term relationship coinciding with the Meghan/Harry wedding, queued up below.
They followed it up with a second showcase on the station in March 2021.
New Long Leg LP was released in April of 2021. They began touring in July of that year and in November 2021 they made their US television debut on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon.
“I got nerves in a bad way,” says Dowse. “Only because it was such a big deal. Over in the UK we watch [US late night TV performances]… we don’t really have anything like that in the UK… Some of the performances you get tend to be defining of the band. I remember seeing a version of “Wolf Like Me” by TV On The Radio on Letterman. It was totally different from the album and punk. I was like ‘WOAH!’ I still watch that video. It was a great performance. The opportunity wasn’t lost on us to get the same exposure.”
In the last several months, Dry Cleaning traveled all over the UK, while battling corporate venues who skim profits off the top. Dry Cleaning also swung through Europe and now North America. Dance yourself clean with Dry Cleaning when they bring their spoken-word post-punk to the newly minted Crystal Ballroom on May 15th in Somerville. The show starts at 8pm with openers Fake Fruit. Resale tickets are available here.