Watch Dry Cleaning Play NPR ‘Tiny Desk (Home) Concert’
East London band Dry Cleaning appeared on NPR’s Tiny Desk series, performing a Tiny Desk (Home) Concert from a cassette tape- and vinyl-filled space.
The group played several songs from their recent debut album, New Long Leg, including “Leafy,” “Her Hippo,” and “Unsmart Lady.” The intimate set also included a rendition of “Viking Hair,” off the band’s 2019 EP Boundary Road Snacks and Drinks.
New Long Leg dropped in April via 4AD. The album was recorded with PJ Harvey producer John Parish. The band has shared several music videos for tracks off the album, including for the single “Unsmart Lady,” which deals with body image.
“I was thinking about these things that are supposed to be a source of shame about your appearance, and wanting to use them in a powerful way,” lead vocalist Florence Shaw told Rolling Stone. “Just trying to survive when you feel knackered and put-upon and shit about yourself, but you say, ‘I don’t care, I’m great.’”
She added that she was imagining a character in the song, but also thinking about a time in her own life “when I was doing a lot of different jobs, and running around a lot and getting changed in toilets on the way to different shifts. I was exhausted, and imagining a hard-working lady.”