Music: Dry Cleaning – “Joy”: Deadpan Poetics Meet Post-Punk Euphoria

Dry Cleaning, the South London art-rock quartet composed of Florence Shaw (vocals), Tom Dowse (guitar), Lewis Maynard (bass), and Nick Buxton (drums), have become one of the UK’s most distinctive voices in contemporary rock. Since their emergence, the band have fused angular post-punk textures with a cerebral sense of humor and emotional detachment, fronted by Shaw’s unmistakable spoken-word delivery that transforms the mundane into the profound.

Building on their acclaimed albums New Long Leg and Stumpwork, Dry Cleaning continue to expand their sound beyond post-punk minimalism — blending vulnerability, groove, and abstraction in ways that push their storytelling into cinematic terrain. Their music walks the line between the intensely personal and the wryly observational, creating an atmosphere both unsettling and magnetic.

“Joy” finds Dry Cleaning at their most introspective and transcendent, exploring fleeting moments of connection and disconnection within the chaos of modern life. With Cate Le Bon’s meticulous production, the track marries shimmering guitars, hypnotic basslines, and Shaw’s precise, unflinching narration — her voice steady and cool, as if documenting the world from just outside its frame.

There’s a quiet euphoria that runs beneath the surface — a celebration of the small, the awkward, and the real. “Joy” isn’t loud or sentimental; it’s a study in emotional understatement, revealing beauty in the overlooked. In this song, Dry Cleaning remind us that even in detachment, there’s connection — and that sometimes, the most powerful form of joy is simply noticing the world as it is.

Band Page: https://www.instagram.com/drycleaningband/