Dry Cleaning’s full-length debut, New Long Leg, is one of the year’s most bracingly strange listens — the kind of record that makes you wonder where the hell it came from and how soon you’ll be able to hear more. The U.K. band has answered the second part of that question Tuesday with a new double-A-side single, “Bug Eggs”/”Tony Speaks!”
“Bug Eggs” is a loose, easygoing guitar jam by Dry Cleaning’s standards, with lead vocalist Florence Shaw delivering a wry monologue on the trade-offs of adulthood: “I am not as fresh-faced as I used to be/But what I’ve lost in that area I’ve gained in confidence/And dress sense/And other things.” (“’Bug Eggs’ is about the confidence that comes with age, fragility, and sexual desire,” Shaw explains in a press release.)
“Tony Speaks!” is a heavier groove with some classic deadpan Dry Cleaning observations on the modern world: “I’m just sad about the collapse of heavy industry,” Shaw mutters. “I’ll be all right in a bit.” She notes in the press release that she wrote the words shortly after Boris Johnson led the Conservative party to victory in the U.K.’s 2019 elections.
Both songs were recorded during the summer 2020 sessions for New Long Leg, and they have appeared as bonus tracks on a Japanese edition of the album.
Dry Cleaning will return to the U.S. in November for its first shows in this country since the pandemic forced them to cancel a 2020 tour. All announced dates are sold out.
Dry Cleaning U.S. Tour Dates
November 10th – Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram
November 11th – San Francisco, CA @ Chapel
November 13th – Portland, OR @ Vitalidad
November 14th – Seattle, WA @ Crocodile
November 16th – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
November 17th – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle
November 19th – Brooklyn, NY @ Market Hotel
November 20th – Brooklyn, NY @ Market Hotel
From Rolling Stone US