Watch Dry Cleaning perform ‘Hot Penny Day’ on Jimmy Fallon
Just in case you forgot, Dry Cleaning is still promoting their fantastic sophomore album, Stumpwork. Even though the LP sort of came and went last year without the same fanfare awarded to their debut, New Long Leg, I happen to think it’s a better overall album. There, I said it.
For proof, just take a look over at our ‘best songs that didn’t make our end-of-year roundup’ list. Just a short scroll down and you’ll find, of all things, Dry Cleaning and ‘Hot Penny Day’. In that entry, I claimed that Stumpwork would only continue to grow in esteem, and with nationally televised performances going out into the world of late night, I feel nothing but confidence in that stance.
Admittedly, The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon is a strange place to find eternal post-punk weirdos Dry Cleaning. Singer Florence Shaw, in particular, has the complete opposite energy of the giggly and perpetually giddy Fallon: she’s stoic, emotionless, and weirdly captivating in her stillness.
Behind her, the rhythm section of bassist Lewis Maynard and drummer Nick Buxton get funky. Maynard is the secret MVP of Dry Cleaning, bringing muscular bass lines to every single one of the band’s songs. Here, he gets to play with an envelope filter and lay down the groove while guitarist Tom Dowse gets angular and weird over on the six-string.
It’s hard to tell at the end of the performance if Fallon’s audience is truly into the otherworldly tones of Dry Cleaning or if they’re just clapping because the “applause” sign is flashing. Either way, Dry Cleaning themselves don’t seem too perturbed – their greatest asset is live, sweaty, intimate shows, but they more than hold their own when they have to clean up and get polished for live TV.
Check out the performance of ‘Hot Penny Day’ from Fallon down below.
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