It's a Tokyo bouncy ball - it's an Oslo bouncy ball!

Continuing my trip up The Guardian's Top 50 Albums of 2021

#7 : New Long Leg - Dry Cleaning

Dry Cleaning frontperson Florence Shaw captures a generation’s internal monologue like never before: those bitchy, distracted, utterly unmindful thoughts that a consciousness poisoned by city life and digital media is powerless to stop. Shaw doom-scrolls through her own life, yet the London band’s debut album is often breezy and full of little situation comedies; her humour given ample space by the sturdy guitar-bass-drums trio who cleave to varied strains of stoner-garage rock. Ultimately there’s a profound poetry in how her observations hang together, a reminder that something can be built from the dumb flotsam of ordinary life

I'm aware of Dry Cleaning and think I'd heard some of these tracks before, but struggle to remember them.  And I've definitely not heard the whole album, so let's go for it.  And it starts off with a very hooky and quirky opening track - and if the hook doesn't quite continue through the album, the quirk very much does (which leads me to believe I hadn't heard any of it before, because I suspect I'd remember them).  It's a whole album of non-sequiturs, some of which are particularly odd (but in an amusing way).  You can quite believe she just sings the first thing that comes into her head - but she pulls it off (although I'd challenge The Guardian's contention that the observations hang together).  It all results in some fantastically quirky lyrics which I liked a lot

Are there some kind of reverse platform shoes?
That make you go into the ground more and make you reach a lower level?  Never mind
Would you choose a dentist with a messy back garden like that? I don't think so 

Underpinning all the lyrics is some very taut indie-rock - I was reminded in places of The Breeders and LCD Soundsytem, but her vocal delivery style also amusingly reminds me of Jo Brand.  All in all it's a somewhat unusual album - I wouldn't say it's an immediate "love" but I can see I could get into it big time if I gave it a few more listens.

Wikipedia explains her "writing process" - "Sometimes you just can’t be fucked with a lot of topics.  You’re like, ‘The only thing I care about right now is baked beans.’ Or, ‘The only thing I care about is Star Trek: The Next Generation. That is my interest, and everything else can fuck off’".  And having heard the album, I can quite see that's how she runs things.  It was well received critically though - and commercially as well, getting to #4 in the UK.  I can also see it going down well in the US in a Talking Heads kinda style - they were touring over there when the pandemic hit and I'm hoping they get to go back there to spread their message (and I imagine they put on quite a live set).

"Customers also listened to" Squid, Goat Girl and Black Country, New Road - all of whom have their own level of quirk, but Dry Cleaning are up there with the quirkiest of them.  I'm gonna try and listen to this a few more times - I think I could really get into it.

#8 - One I liked more than I was expecting to

#6 - OK, but not something I'd search out