“Hopefully I’ll survive all the way to Cardiff!” Dry Cleaning vocalist Florence Shaw jokes to Emma Way, speaking in the middle of the fast-rising London postpunk band’s US touring cycle. As they look ahead to their Tramshed show on Tue 28 Feb, Florence and Emma talk lyrical observations, performing for Jimmy Fallon and inspiring Paramore.
Congratulations on your recent Tonight Show appearance. How was that for you?
Florence Shaw: Quite weird, but great. The Roots were right there! Which was quite intimidating. I mean, they’re amazing, so it was cool to see them play that close. Al Pacino was there too, it was surreal. We’ve done it once before, so we sort of knew what to expect. It’s a very long day – you get there at 8.30am, don’t tape the performance until 4pm, and then it’s shown on TV that night. You spend eight hours getting ready and then it’s all over in five minutes.
What’s the reception been like for latest album Stumpwork in the US?
Florence Shaw: Really good. The guy who played the kid in The Sixth Sense [Haley Joel Osment] bought a copy of the album yesterday at our show in LA, which was hilarious. It’s always hard to gauge because I don’t read a whole lot of reviews and online stuff – I try to insulate myself from that a little bit at least – but the audiences have been really ecstatic, and seem to know the songs really well already. That usually takes quite a while, from when something comes out to when people know the words or know the cues of the songs. That usually takes quite a while – it took longer with [2021 debut album] New Long Leg, but people seem quite familiar with it already, which I think is a really good sign.
When you say that you tend to stay away from online reviews, does that mean that you pick up on the reception of a live show?
Florence Shaw: Yeah, I try to mainly rely on our audience as a barometer, rather than a more professional online review or comment. I just find it unreliable, and also I can’t tell the tone. Some of it is so sensationalised, in either a positive or negative way, that it doesn’t feel quite as trustworthy as a reaction that happens right in front of you. There’s something kind of undeniable about that which is quite calming, whether it’s positive or negative. I find it healthier.
Speaking about your lyrics, was observational lyric writing something you started doing unintentionally?
Florence Shaw: As far as writing like that for lyrics, yeah. I’ve always done creative work that was observational in some way: either drawing, filmmaking, or recording sounds. I did quite a lot of that in my artwork in the past [Shaw is a graduate of the Royal College Of Art in London]. I’ve made little observational films; I like field recording, using that and overheard conversation, but then also drawing. I would do a lot of drawing on public transport, lots of drawing from life. I always did that since I was a kid, but in terms of lyrics it was fairly accidental. When the band started, I was collecting a lot of writing in my phone, thinking I’ll use this for something.
Were a lot of those notes humorous ones? That’s something there’s a lot of in Dry Cleaning’s lyrics.
Florence Shaw: I’m interested in humour; I think it’s important. I can sometimes suffer from depression and I get quite bleak occasionally, and I think humour and making jokes – even quite dark jokes – is definitely something that helps me cope. I like the challenge of trying to write something that’s funny, and that’s also funny over time – doesn’t just wear off quickly. My sense of humour veers towards the absurd: silliness or strangeness is an antidote to the shitness of life.
There are small humming segments in between your lyrics on the new album – specifically Stumpwork the song, and Anna Calls From The Arctic. It breaks up those songs and feels like a bit of light.
Florence Shaw: Incidental singing is something that I’ve done before, but I used it more on this album. And yeah, you’re totally right, it’s going for a bit of levity. Say something’s getting quite heavy, I like to change that. It’s almost like that sort of humming you do when you’re pottering around or singing to yourself. A lot of people do it as a thing to help them focus, or a self-soothing sort of thing.
What’s something you can’t imagine ever touring without?
Florence Shaw: So many things! I’m a stuff person. I need my transparent bag full of cosmetic things and medicines and like everything you could ever possibly need. I would 100% freak out if I lost that. I can’t just roll out of bed and do stuff. I need several layers of rituals and routines and every kind of cream. It’s something that you can keep consistent throughout a tour: if you keep it the same every day, it brings me some kind of sanity, because tours can be really different every day. A routine just doesn’t really exist, so it’s nice to have something that you can keep the same.
Just the other day Paramore referenced you as a massive inspiration for their new song, C’est Comme Ça.
I was really touched as well because Hayley [Williams] didn’t have to do that. She could have just used it as an inspiration and not told anyone! I think it’s really great when people reference what they’ve been listening to, especially if it’s a smaller band. It brings what we do to such a wider audience because they’re huge, you know? I just thought it was really generous – I love the transparency of that, respect it a lot.
What did you think of the song?
Florence Shaw: I think it’s great. I mean, it’s hard not to love Paramore really but I’m always going to root for a female-fronted band. I just love that they’re massive, I love Hayley’s energy, and I think she’s a great role model. I respect them so much, and I’m glad they exist.
What’s your thoughts on artists catching onto spoken word as a technique in itself?
Florence Shaw: I’m never that bothered about the form of something: I’m always more interested in what people are saying as opposed to how. I’m much more interested in the story, or what it is the person is saying, because you can only get so interested in the style of something. What makes me love a band, or a song, is seeing where it’s coming from, or what’s inside of it all. If I feel like somebody’s being bold with what they’re saying. That’s what really hooks me in, rather than just the style of it.
Dry Cleaning, Tramshed, Cardiff, Tue 28 Feb.
Tickets: £19.50. Info: here
words EMMA WAY
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