Dry Cleaning release new single ‘Anna Calls From The Arctic’
British indie rockers Dry Cleaning have wasted no time in announcing their upcoming sophomore studio album Stumpwork. After dropping the first preview of the new LP with the single ‘Don’t Press Me’, the London quartet are sharing another track from the album with ‘Anna Calls From The Arctic’.
Kicking off with a bass heavy groove, ‘Anna Calls From The Arctic’ quickly brings in a new sonic texture to the Dry Cleaning sound – synthesisers. Before you can wrap your head around those tones, and even more bizarre instrument filters in through the arrangement – a clarinet. One of the best guitar bands in the world has completely dropped the guitar… at least for one song.
“The lyrics were partly inspired by phone calls with a friend who was living and working in the Arctic,” the band explains in a statement. ”The song developed from a keyboard, bass and clarinet jam. This then took shape during our pre-recording sessions with John Parish and Joe Jones in Bristol and finalized at Rockfield studios a month later, with some musical inspiration coming from the dramatic scores of John Barry. The song is observational and sensual.”
Rest assured that Dry Cleaning aren’t actually moving into yacht rock territory (although that would be something to behold for sure). ‘Anna Calls From The Arctic’ still retains some of the band’s signature elements, most notably the laconic drawl Florence Shaw, but simply repackages them into a more psychedlic and less abbrasive arrangment. It still sounds like Dry Cleaning, but with a fresh new coat of paint.
The group clearly aren’t resting on their laurels. Their fantastic debut, New Long Leg, was released just over a year ago. The gap between releases will be exactly a year and a half, but since the band recorded their debut back in 2020, it’s been a much longer stopover gap for them. That probably explains why they’re so eager to return, or perhaps it has something to do with the major acclaim and surprising popularity that has surrounded New Long Leg (it did land at number one on some wonder Best Albums of 2021 lists, after all).
Check out the video for ‘Anna Calls From The Arctic’ down below. Stumpwork is set for an October 21st release.
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