Today, Dry Cleaning release the remastered reissue of their first two EPs, Boundary Road Snacks and Drinks / Sweet Princess. Available digitally and as one single vinyl, the former is also available on cassette for the first time and includes an exclusive bonus single, a demo of New Long Leg single, ‘Strong Feelings’, recorded during the sessions for Boundary Road Snacks and Drinks. To celebrate the release, the band have released a new visualiser for each track on the EPs created by original ‘Magic of Meghan’ video collaborator Lucy Vann.
+ Buy ‘Boundary Road Snacks & Drinks / Sweet Princess’ +
After a prolific 18-month period releasing two critically acclaimed John Parish-produced studio albums, New Long Leg (2021) and Stumpwork (2022), as well as last year’s companion release the five-track Swampy EP, South London’s Dry Cleaning are taking a moment to reflect on their journey and pay homage to their roots.
Dry Cleaning’s origin story is well known by now. Guitarist Tom Dowse, drummer Nick Buxton, and bassist Lewis Maynard had been friends and musical collaborators for years, and invited mutual friend Florence Shaw – a visual artist, picture researcher and drawing lecturer – to join the band in 2017. With clear musical influences from the Feelies, the Necessaries, the B52s and Pylon, and constrained by the small garage space they rehearsed in, Dry Cleaning were drawn to making simple music; direct and uncomplicated, anything superfluous was left behind.
By March 2018 the group had recorded the six-track debut EP Sweet Princess with producer Kristian Craig Robinson at Total Refreshment Centre in a single day. Two months later, in May 2018, the band played their first live show in Dalston at the Shacklewell Arms, and released the EP in August. Sweet Princess was a thrilling debut, its dizzying and restless instrumentals with Shaw’s sardonic vocals delivering a satirical collage of witty observations and social commentary. A further 6 songs in the form of the Boundary Road Snacks and Drinks EP quickly followed two months after. It was named in tribute to the band’s rehearsal space in Maynard’s family’s south London (Sidcup) home, and to his mother Susan whose home-cooked meals sustained the four friends in between sessions. With singles like ‘Sit Down Meal’ and ‘Viking Hair’, Boundary Road Snacks and Drinks is a powerful companion to Sweet Princess. They share a similar pent-up energy, unsurprising given they came to life in the same environment those EPs were created in, an environment that had a huge influence on the band during those formative years.
Having celebrated another ‘National Dry Cleaning Day’ with a show at The Lexington last Sunday (3rd March), the band will be back on the road later this month. Sets on this upcoming headline tour will lean heavily on songs from Boundary Road Snacks and Drinks and Sweet Princess and offer fans the chance to see the band play in more intimate venues. Full tour dates are listed below and for tickets and information, head here.
Boundary Road Snacks and Drinks:
A1. Dog Proposal
A2. Viking Hair
A3. Spoils
A4. Jam After School
A5. Sombre One
A6. Sit Down Meal
Sweet Princess:
B1. Goodnight
B2. New Job
B3. Magic of Meghan
B4. Traditional Fish
B5. Phone Scam
B6. Conversation
March 2024
10th – Empty Bottle, Chicago IL, US
11th – Empty Bottle, Chicago IL, US
13th – SXSW, Austin TX, US
14th – SXSW, Austin TX, US
15th – SXSW, Austin TX, US
16th – SXSW, Austin TX, US
18th – Roxy, Los Angeles CA, US
19th – Roxy, Los Angeles CA, US
21st – The Independent, San Francisco CA, US
22nd – The Independent, San Francisco CA, US
23rd – Treefort Festival, Boise ID, US
25th – Bowery Ballroom, New York NY, US
26th – Bowery Ballroom, New York NY, US
April
5th – Saint Lukes, Glasgow, UK
6th – The Grove, Newcastle, UK
7th – Future Yard, Birkenhead, UK
9th – Whelan;s, Dublin, Ireland
10th – Whelan’s, Dublin, Ireland
12th – Brudenell Social Club, Leeds, UK
13th – Brudenell Social Club, Leeds, UK
15th – Hare and Hounds, Birmingham, UK
16th – Hare and Hounds, Birmingham, UK
18th – EartH Theatre, London, UK
20th – Motel Mozaique, Rotterdam, Netherlands
21st – Trix Hall, Antwerp, Belgium
23rd – Gleis 22, Munster, Denmark
24th – Halle am Berghain, Berlin, Germany
26th – La Gaite Lyrique, Paris, France
May
24th – Tomavistas Festival, Madrid, Spain
June
29th – Solid Sound Festival, North Adams MA, US