Dry cleaning feels comfortable on the borderline of discomfort. It starts with the album covers: lastly the hair on the soap, now the eyewash. In contrast, Florence Shaw’s stoically murmured chant radiates something calming – if it weren’t for the evil humor and the dark images when Shaw talks about a relevant “Cruise Ship Designer”, grotesque passion of flesh (“Evil Evil Idiot”) and the background noise of war (“Blood”).
Or sprinkled in humorous rhymes: “I don’t like to clean / I find cleaning demeaning”. It’s only a small step from laughing to being frightened. And between sawing No Wave guitars and motor drums, brittle catchy tunes and downright lively jangle pop episodes emerge. Produced by Cate Le Bon, SECRET LOVE, the Londoners’ third album, was recorded in various studios, including Jeff Tweedy’s The Loft in Chicago.
It’s fitting that after the cold noise stomper “Rocks” Shaw brings out her sweetest vocals in “The Cute Things” and the guitar spreads off-kilter country vibes. The present is dystopian. But it has to be fun too.
This review appears in Musikexpress 2/2026.