New Long Leg

New Long Leg is the debut studio album by English post-punk band Dry Cleaning, released in April 2021 on the label 4AD. Produced by John Parish, it received critical acclaim by the press in the UK and the US.

New Long Leg
Studio album by
Dry Cleaning
Released2 April 2021 (2021-04-02)
Recorded2020
StudioRockfield Studios, Wales
Genre
Length41:58
Label4AD
ProducerJohn Parish
Dry Cleaning chronology
Boundary Road Snacks and Drinks
(2019)		 New Long Leg
(2021)		 Stumpwork
(2022)
Singles from New Long Leg
  1. "Scratchcard Lanyard"
    Released: 19 November 2020[1]
  2. "Strong Feelings"
    Released: 9 February 2021[2]
  3. "Unsmart Lady"
    Released: 30 March 2021[3]

Background

In early March 2020, the band were immersed in their first American shows, having played in New York City, which Dowse described as “almost like a religious experience.” After that show, the pandemic started and they had to abandon the rest of their tour and go back to London. By that time, they had most of the album written, and later that year went into the studio with producer John Parish.[4]

Composition

Influences and style

The inspiration for this album comes from artists such as Augustus Pablo, Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin.[4] The music has been described as "a modern retelling of Siouxsie and the Banshees and the Smiths" with a "spoken-word stream-of-consciousness".[5]

Lyrics

Most of the lyrics on the album come from vocalist Florence Shaw’s writing exercises: “Sometimes you just can’t be fucked with a lot of topics,” she said. “You’re like, ‘The only thing I care about right now is baked beans.’ Or, ‘The only thing I care about is Star Trek: The Next Generation. That is my interest, and everything else can fuck off.’ And I’ll write whatever I can think of about that, and all my feelings about it. Sometimes it’ll go off into another subject. It’s just a way to make me go.”[4]

Songs

The album’s lead single “Scratchcard Lanyard,” was described as a revenge fantasy. “It’s feeling quite pissed-off and fatigued with the roles you’re asked to fulfill as a woman past the age of 30,” said Shaw. “The pressure to have children is this sudden thing that descends, like, ‘You’re a carer now.’ Not that I resent any of those things in principle. Mothers are the greatest people in the world. But it was a noticeable thing, that suddenly I have these pressures that my brother and my male friends don’t have.”

“Unsmart Lady” was noted by Rolling Stone as having a “basement-rattling stoner-rock groove” and ”lyrics about body image“. “‘Fat, podgy, no makeup’ — 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,” Shaw said. “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.'”[4]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?8.0/10[6]
Metacritic86/100[7]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Clash8/10[9]
Exclaim!9/10[10]
The Guardian[11]
NME[12]
musicOMH[13]
Paste8.2/10[14]
Pitchfork8.6/10[15]
The Telegraph[16]
Under the Radar[17]

New Long Leg was critically acclaimed upon release. On review aggregator website, Metacritic, New Long Leg has an average rating of 86 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim based on 15 critic reviews".[7] On aggregator site, AnyDecentMusic?, New Long Leg has an average rating of 8.1 out of 10, based on 17 critic scores.[6]

Writing for The Line of Best Fit, Ross Horton praised the album's unique, artful sound in contrast to many of the genre's contemporary artists: "In the past decade or so, countless bands have been brought up from the same well of tightly-wound, expressionistic rock (Protomartyr, Preoccupations, Shame, IDLES, Fontaines D.C.), but none hold the same uniquely fascinating appeal that Dry Cleaning have."[18]

Horton also said of New Long Leg, "Dry Cleaning's enigmatic, iconoclastic vocalist is unlike any other, her presence completely transforming the experience of listening to the band. She doesn’t shout, or even really emote, but just conveys the words how they’re supposed to be heard, over some excellently played, saturnine rock."[18] Writing in The New York Times, Lindsay Zoladz called the album "excellent," noting that, "Shaw is equal parts frontwoman and spoken-word poet, weaving the random linguistic detritus of modern life into loose, surreal narratives."[19]

In July 2021, the song "Strong Feelings" was used for the Fall-Winter Haute Couture Chanel show in Paris at Palais Galliera.[20]

On 16 November 2021, New Long Leg was named "Album of the Year" by Rough Trade. On 3 December, Resident Music also named it "Album of the Year".

Accolades
New Long Leg on year-end lists
Publication List Rank Ref.
The Guardian The 50 Best Albums of 2021
7
[21]
NME The 50 Best Albums of 2021
43
[22]
Paste The 50 Best Albums of 2021
7
[23]
Pitchfork The 50 Best Albums of 2021
10
[24]

Track listing

All music is composed by Florence Shaw, Lewis Maynard, Tom Dowse, and Nick Buxton

No.TitleLength
1."Scratchcard Lanyard"4:07
2."Unsmart Lady"3:02
3."Strong Feelings"4:05
4."Leafy"3:09
5."Her Hippo"4:38
6."New Long Leg"4:13
7."John Wick"3:26
8."More Big Birds"4:08
9."A.L.C."3:10
10."Every Day Carry"7:39
Total length:41:58
Japanese edition bonus tracks[25]
No.TitleLength
11."Tony Speaks!"5:16
12."Bug Eggs"3:21
Total length:50:35

Personnel

Sourced from AllMusic.[8]

Dry Cleaning

  • Florence Shaw - vocals, melodica
  • Tom Dowse - guitar, keyboards, piano, synthesizer, percussion
  • Lewis Maynard - bass
  • Nick Baxton - drums, percussion, programming, keyboards, synthesizer

Charts
Chart performance for New Long Leg
Chart (2021) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[26] 67
Irish Albums (OCC)[27] 45
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[28] 26
Scottish Albums (OCC)[29] 4
UK Albums (OCC)[30] 4
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[31] 1
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[32]
[33]		 16
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[34]
[35]		 60

References
  1. Vozick-Levinson, Simon (24 November 2020). "Song You Need to Know: Dry Cleaning, 'Scratchcard Lanyard'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  2. Young, David James (9 February 2021). "Dry Cleaning share 'Strong Feelings', announce debut album". NME. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  3. Ruiz, Matthew Ismael (30 March 2021). "Dry Cleaning Share Video for New Song "Unsmart Lady": Watch". Pitchfork. Conde Nast. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  4. Vozick-Levinson, Simon (17 March 2021). "The Everyday Poetry of Dry Cleaning". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  5. Senior, Nicholas (2 April 2021). "Dry Cleaning – New Long Day". New noise Magazine. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  6. "New Long Leg by Dry Cleaning". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  7. "New Long Leg by Dry Cleaning Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  8. Phares, Heather. Review of New Long Leg at AllMusic. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  9. Murray, Robin (31 March 2021). "Dry Cleaning - New Long Leg". Clash. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  10. Bell, Kaelen (1 April 2021). "Dry Cleaning Spit Back the Unending Noise of the World on 'New Long Leg'". Exclaim!. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  11. Hann, Michael (2 April 2021). "Dry Cleaning: New Long Leg review - terrific post-punk poets of the everyday". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  12. Richards, Will (31 March 2021). "Dry Cleaning – 'New Long Leg' review: a playful antidote to po-faced post-punk". NME. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  13. Cotsell, Matt (1 April 2021). "Dry Cleaning – New Long Leg". musicOMH. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  14. Freedman, Max (1 April 2021). "Dry Cleaning Turn Nonsense into Truth on the Fantastic New Long Leg". Paste. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  15. Mapes, Jillian (2 April 2021). "Dry Cleaning: New Long Leg Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  16. McCormick, Neil (1 April 2021). "With New Long Leg, Dry Cleaning lead the renaissance of British 'monologue rock'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  17. Gourlay, Dom (1 April 2021). "Dry Cleaning: New Long Leg (4AD)". Under the Radar. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  18. Horton, Ross (1 April 2021). "Dry Cleaning separate themselves from the post punk crowd by matching lyrical prowess with raw sound". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  19. Zoladz, Lindsay (2 April 2021). "Olivia Rodrigo's Emotional Road Trip, and 8 More New Songs". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  20. "Haute Couture Fall-Winter 2021/22 Show - Chanel Fashion Shows". Chanel. 6 July 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2021. Credits: [...] « Strong Feelings » by Dry Cleaning [...]
  21. Beaumont-Thomas, Ben; Snapes, Laura (17 December 2021). "The 50 best albums of 2021". theguardian.com. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  22. "On The Cover - The 50 best albums of 2021". NME. 10 December 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  23. "The 50 Best Albums of 2021". Paste. 29 November 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  24. Reynolds, Simon (7 December 2021). "The 50 Best Albums of 2021". Pitchfork. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  25. "BEATINK.COM New Long Leg". Beatink.com. Retrieved 30 August 2021.
  26. "Ultratop.be – Dry Cleaning – New Long Leg" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  27. "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  28. "Portuguesecharts.com – Dry Cleaning – New Long Leg". Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  29. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  30. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  31. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  32. "Dry Cleaning Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  33. "Heatseekers Albums: Week of April 17, 2022". Billboard. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  34. "Dry Cleaning Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  35. "Top Album Sales: Week of April 17, 2022". Billboard. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
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