Dry Cleaning
didn't exactly come out of nowhere -- many of the band's members were lifers in London's indie music scene -- but as their early EPs reveal, their evolution was quick.
4AD
's reissue
Sweet Princess/Boundary Road Snacks and Drink
reaffirms that
Florence Shaw
's enigmatic charisma and way with a sprechgesang non sequitur, as well as the conversational interplay between her vocals and the rest of the band, were firmly established before the group's acclaimed 2021 debut album,
New Long Leg
. The compilation kicks off with 2019's Boundary Road Snacks and Drink; song for song, it remains one of
's most consistently exciting releases. A winding, ultimately satisfying journey through the ever-changing relationship with the past, "Sit Down Meal" is a standout early example of the give-and-take between
Shaw
's narratives and the music surrounding them. On "Dog Proposal," the band's galloping jangle slyly opposes
's short-circuiting corporate drone plan for success -- the speed with which she goes from optimistic to despairing as she repeats "I've joined a gym close to the office/I've joined a gym" shows just how much range lies within her seemingly flat affect. That goes double for the excellent "Viking Hair," a love song that fills her deadpan declarations ("She's a¿tragic heroine/I'm in love") with chemistry and tenderness.
also explore themes they'd return to later on songs such as "Spoils," where
's demand to know who dies and who finds love feels like a search for stability within the uncertainty of the early 21st century. The band's willingness to push themselves surfaces on "Sombre One," a musique concrete-enhanced internal monologue that captures the feeling of sitting on the bed and staring into space.
is only slightly less arresting on their 2017 debut EP,
Sweet Princess
, a more primal take on their distinctive viewpoint.
feels less distant on "Magic of Meghan"'s explorations of the surfaces and realities of relationships -- as well as the pressures of being a public persona and being perceived as a woman -- and on "Phone Scam," which milks the surrealism of intense emotions for all it's worth. That the band recorded the EP in a single day lends a punk rawness to "Goodnight" and "New Job," both of which give the impression of trying to have a heart-to-heart at a noisy party. Working with
John Parish
allowed
to perfect their approach on
and
Stumpwork
, but
is a bracing reminder of how quickly they found their own niche within the post-punk revival and developed a body of work that transcended trends. ~ Heather Phares