Shaw, who deftly deploys pauses and stretches syllables, is a master of intonation. “I’m very interested in small differences,” she said. “I really enjoy games that put the emphasis in a different place in a sentence — and that means something else entirely. The same word might sound scary instead of proud.”
As Dry Cleaning was recording parts of their new album in their Bristol studio, Shaw went on a collecting mission, scouring the streets for words he heard, shop signs and unusual sights, and scribbled them in his cell phone notepad. I had written it down. On another expedition, we visited a “car boot sale.” This is a UK-specific flea market where members of the public park their cars in the fields and sell antiques from their trunks. Shaw also likes collecting words. The title of her song, as well as the title of her new album, “Stumpwork,” is something she’s been dying to use for years.
“I like the sound of it,” she said. “A type of embroidery similar to that of military uniforms and American sportswear braiding. It was originally used to represent raised or padded figures on tapestries.”
Musically, “Stampwork” is a conscious and concerted effort to show that the band is more than post-punk. Leaving behind the gritty sound and taut basslines of his first album, the new LP transitions into a lo-fi “slacker” band like his early 90s Pavement. “I used to think about Stephen Malkmus a lot when I was doing the guitar part. Such a whim,” Dowse said, explaining that he played guitar for a Jazzmaster. “
Compared to “New Long Leg”, “Stumpwork” is an American album in a sense. The debut felt like a damp winter day, and the mood was reflected in lyrics like “I was putting my chucks down” and “Sweat in my raincoat.” “Stumpwork”, by contrast, has the hazy, sultry vibe of a drunken summer afternoon. While the show still drops the oddly moody line that “tension and frustration seem to be going on,” the underlying despondency of “New Long Legs” allows for moments of carefree joy and quiet gratification. Open to allow.
If there’s a dark cloud here, it’s more from the political climate than from my personal life. The track “Conservative Hell” expresses the many perspectives of the band and their generation. “Scandal after scandal, levels of corruption, lies at the top of government, and it almost feels completely unchallenged,” Dows said. think.”