Dry Cleaning: Secret Love [Album Review]

Dry Cleaning
Secret Love
4AD [2026]

“Spoken-word post-punk with a pulse: Secret Love captures Dry Cleaning at their most open, assured, and inviting.”

Album Overview: Dry Cleaning formed in South London as a close-knit group built on trust, curiosity, and shared instincts. Florence Shaw’s spoken delivery sits at the center, grounding the band while giving Tom Dowse, Lewis Maynard, and Nick Buxton room to move freely around her words. From the start, the group leaned into collective writing, letting each part respond to the others instead of sticking to fixed roles. That approach helped them carve out a clear identity without boxing themselves in.

Secret Love stands as Dry Cleaning’s most revealing record so far, shaped through in-room collaboration and refined across multiple studios, each adding its own atmosphere. The album thrives on contrast, shifting between tension and release while keeping its footing. It closes on a note of encouragement, framing the record as both a snapshot of the present and an invitation to keep moving forward.

Musical Style: The music blends elastic guitar lines, grounded bass movement, and steady rhythms that favor momentum as much as restraint. Melodic turns and group responses show up more often, giving the songs a sense of motion and play. Space still matters here, but it now shares the spotlight with groove and forward pull.

Evolution of Sound: Compared to earlier releases, Secret Love feels more open in both structure and spirit. Warmth, humor, and clarity surface alongside the band’s sharper edges. Working with Cate Le Bon encouraged risk and confidence, resulting in songs that feel less guarded and more lived in. The ideas may not feel entirely new today, but the band’s swagger and assured delivery remain hard to shake.

Artists with Similar Fire: Dry Cleaning share common ground with Wet Leg, Yard Act, Sorry, English Teacher, Courting, and Automatic. There are also echoes of spoken-word driven acts like Life Without Buildings, paired with guitar bands that value pacing, texture, and perspective over polish.

Pivotal Tracks: “Hit My Head All Day” captures the weight of modern distraction through repetition and slow release. “Cruise Ship Designer” sharpens its focus with character and irony, letting the music quietly underline the point. “Joy” brings the album home with a direct sense of care, offering a simple refrain that lingers well after the final note.

Lyrical Strength: Shaw’s writing pulls from observation, found language, and shifting points of view, shaped as much by timing as by content. Her calm delivery often masks unease, humor, or longing, turning tone into part of the message. Across Secret Love, kindness feels deliberate rather than passive, presented as something worth holding onto even when the world pushes back.

Final Groove: Secret Love doesn’t reinvent Dry Cleaning, but it doesn’t need to. Instead, it deepens what they already do well, adding warmth, flexibility, and confidence without losing their edge. It’s a record that rewards close listening while still feeling easy to live with, and it hints at a band comfortable enough in their voice to keep finding new angles. Wherever Dry Cleaning head next, this feels like a solid step forward, not a stopping point.

DRY CLEANING REVIEW HISTORY
Stumpwork (2022) / New Long Leg (2021)

DRY CLEANING LINKS
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