Today Shaw puts her restlessly inquisitive personality to use as the lead vocalist for one of the most exciting bands in rock. Dry Cleaning’s debut album,
New Long Leg, is due out April 2nd after a pair of 2019 EPs that hit like telepathic firecrackers from another planet. Shaw’s unique lyrical style is a big part of what sets Dry Cleaning apart from a thousand other 21st-century U.K. guitar bands. On songs like the recent single “Strong Feelings,” she recites disjointed monologues in an eerily calm tone over dank, arty rumbles courtesy of guitarist Tom Dowse, bassist Lewis Maynard, and drummer Nick Buxton: “Just an emo dead-stuff collector/Things come to the brain/I spent £17 on mushrooms for you. … I’ve been thinking about eating that hot dog for hours …” The meanings of her words can be obscure or startlingly direct, disturbing or quite funny, and the music is always charged with intense feeling. It’s a refreshingly off-kilter combination that could only come from three seasoned rockers and one person with zero previous experience being in a band.