Review
Florence Shaw’s wry deadpan remains English post-punk’s most effective weapon against modern exhaustion, but on Secret Love, her delivery finds an unexpectedly lush counterweight. Produced by Cate Le Bon, Dry Cleaning’s third album stretches their familiar angularity into surprising shapes, trading their usual claustrophobia for a "crystalline, precise hue". Critics note the quartet has outstripped their initial novelty value, confidently shifting into arrangements that span from 80s-inflected machine-funk to creeping, atmospheric folk.
While the band’s backdrop of "vinegary distorted guitar" remains intact, Le Bon's influence coaxes a softer melodic energy from the rhythm section. Critics point out how Shaw’s voice—often celebrated for sounding "politely bored"—now deliberately rubs against a "sprightly, more sing-song-like vocal cadence". Instead of merely dispensing satirical non sequiturs, Shaw appears more inward-looking, processing societal overwhelm while the band settles into a "ghostly cum zombic groove". By leaning into this peculiar tension, Secret Love widens the scope of Dry Cleaning’s catalog without forsaking the bleak, observational charm that built it.
