Earlier this year, Dry Cleaning, “the most important British guitar band of their generation,” (Uncut) released their new album, Secret Love. The beloved band of vocalist Florence Shaw, guitarist Tom Dowse, drummer Nick Buxton and bassist Lewis Maynard’s third album received glowing Album of the Week/Month accolades from the likes of The Sunday Times, The Observer, Record Collector, The Guardian, MOJO, and more, with the latter’s 5* critique calling the album, “a surrealist masterpiece.”
Ahead of the band’s extensive tour kicking off next month, they release the new single, ‘Sliced By a Fingernail’. With a backdrop of the band’s rich soundscape of early 80s US punk and hardcore coupled with stoner rock and motorik grooves, Shaw provides abstract lyrics partly about someone who hates attention.
She comments: “A lot of attention makes them feel sliced up. They fantasise about being hidden inside a huge flower bud and about being anonymous in a crowd at night. The image of a brown mark from a finger nail pressed into a petal inspired some of the writing. I thought about peony buds not opening and then browning, and their tightness. The lyrics were also inspired by illustrator Jooyoung Kim‘s picture book about a dog who has a long body, called ‘Welcome to My Life’.”
Dry Cleaning – ‘Sliced By a Fingernail’ (Official Visualiser)
Dry Cleaning
Secret Love New Zealand 2026 Tour
Responsible for one of the finest, most comparison-defying releases of 2026 so far, Dry Cleaning are bringing their Secret Love release tour to Aotearoa New Zealand this June.
One of the hottest and most exciting acts on the scene right now, the tour includes festival stops at Vivid LIVE at the Sydney Opera House on Friday 29 May and RISING: Melbourne at the Forum on Saturday 30 May, alongside headline shows in Ballarat on Sunday 7 June at the Civic Hall, and in New Zealand at Wellington’s Meow Nui on Tuesday 2 June and Auckland’s Hollywood Avondale on Wednesday 3 June.
Tuesday 2 June – Meow NUI, Wellington
Wednesday 3 June – Hollywood. Auckland
MG Live presale from 12pm, Friday 13th March for 24 hours (or until allocation exhausted)
Tickets on sale 12pm, Monday 16th March
All tickets and tour information via mg.live/drycleaning
Praise for Secret Love
“Secret Love is a wonderful album.” – MOJO’s Album of the Month *****
“The most important British guitar band of their generation.” – Uncut
“Their best work yet.” – Record Collector’s Album of the Month ****
“The most important album of 2026 before its even begun.” – The Standard
“It all works to powerful effect.” – The Guardian’s Album of the Week ****
“Fantastically odd and quite affecting.” – The Sunday Times’s Album of the Week ****
DRY CLEANING ONLINE
drycleaning.ochre.store
@DryCleaningBand
