Dry Cleaning have shared the second single, Goodnight, which is lifted from their much-anticipated debut EP, ‘Sweet Princess,’ due out on August 16th via It’s OK. It follows on from the lead single Magic of Meghan, an ode to Meghan Markle.
Goodnight is at once intensely personal and impersonal, stitching together inner monologues to words and phrases from overheard conversations and excerpts from newspapers.
The track is one of the first songs the band has ever written. Listen to Goodnight via YouTube below.
Pre-order ‘Sweet Princess’ EP here
“The lyrics are a mixture of inner monologue, YouTube comments describing memories of songs, and phrases collected from adverts on TV,” says singer Florence Shaw. “The YouTube comments represent strangers sharing poignant memories. The phrases from ads suggest our bodies are naturally disgusting, that we ought to work harder, and that our relationships might fail. Goodnight is partly about feeling fed up with these ideas, and partly about feeling uplifted by openness on the internet.”
The band (Lewis Maynard, Tom Dowse, Florence Shaw & Nick Buxton) only started making music after a party in 2017 inspired a collaboration. They wrote instrumentally to begin with and six months later Shaw, a university lecturer and picture researcher by day, joined on vocals with no prior musical experience. They recorded the six-track ‘Sweet Princess’ EP before playing their first show only last year.
Dry Cleaning’s music is simple – direct and uncomplicated. The Feelies, the Necessaries, the B52s and Pylon all served as inspirations when the band first came together. The small and intimate garage / rehearsal space had a huge influence on the sound; anything unnecessary was to be left behind. A discussion among the four band members about how to make the prospect of performing as comfortable as possible for Florence (a first timer) ahead of the band’s first rehearsal as a four piece, led to her using her speaking voice. There were several references for this; Will Powers, The Anaemic Boyfriends and Grace Jones, among others.
The band will play the following dates in support of the EP:
08.08 – Prince Albert, Brighton
09.08 – Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
10.08 – O2 Academy, Leicester *
16.08 – Green Man Festival, Breacon Beacons
21.08 – Shacklewell Arms, London
22.08 – Hare & Hounds, Birmingham
23.08 – YES (Basement), Manchester
24.08 – Future Yard Festival, Birkinhead
19.10 – Simple Things Festival, Bristol
20.10 – SWN Festival, Cardiff
* with Bodega
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‘Sweet Princess’ EP track listing
1. Goodnight
2. New Job
3. Magic of Meghan
4. Traditional Fish
5. Phone Scam
6. Conversation
