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CRITIC REVIEWS
100
The south Londoners’ wonderfully enigmatic follow-up to New Long Leg feels more collage than essay, the poetic cheek by jowl with the preposterous.
100
Quartet reunite with John Parish at Rockfield Studios for this new collection of songs showcasing their playful, disarming potency.
100
The London band's second album is a bold leap forward, one that sets the band apart from their contemporaries and defies categorisation.
90
Hearing Dry Cleaning's words and music travel in different ways to the same destination remains fascinating, and the ways they open up their music on Stumpwork with warmth, sensuality, and humor reveal their originality even more fully.
90
“Nothing works. Everything’s expensive. Things are shit. But they’re going to be OK.” No, it’s not our new Prime Minister’s address to the nation (though it could be). It’s Florence Shaw on Dry Cleaning’s brilliant second album Stumpwork.
90
With Stumpwork, the joys are much more immediate, and the variety of ideas and rhythms and tempos and textures really makes a powerful impression from the first listen.
90
If the music and lyrics are both impressive, though, it's the interaction between them that makes Stumpwork such a triumph.
88
Dry Cleaning is friends to the strange. They make rock n roll that is weird, cool, and clever, powered by singer Florence Shaw’s snarky vocals. Their latest effort, Stumpwork, cleans this sound to a shiny finish.
85
Dry Cleaning may not get mentioned in the same breath as other young London art-rock groups like black midi or Squid, but they should. Stumpwork proves that this band’s style has legs.
84
The trick with this kind of balancing act is to illustrate and even evoke boredom without actually becoming boring. In the case of Stumpwork, Dry Cleaning consistently pull off this complex task.
83
The London-based band's follow-up to last year's New Long Leg both doubles down on and refocuses their approach.
80
Dry Cleaning follow last year’s breakthrough debut with Stumpwork‘s indie-flavored post-punk woven together via Florence Shaw’s dispassionate musings.
80
Yes, Stumpwork is New Long Leg part two, but a gloriously developed, evolving one.
80
What stands out the most in all their tracks is the utter disregard for what anyone might think about what they're trying to say.
80
‘Stumpwork’ acts perfectly as a snapshot of continuing Dry Cleaning’s depth and complexity.
80
The album’s power comes not in how bluntly it expresses itself, but in how those expressions feel tangible and real.
80
This sprawling, tender lucid dream of an album morphs into various shapes: angular and jagged, lush and distorted, Twin Peaks-esque surrealism, wistful and surrendering.
80
It’s a worthy successor to their debut.
80
Initially, it's like trying to decipher a corrupted floppy disc or a torn diary fished from a skip, profundity, banality and hilarity all blurred together. Yet these songs magically hit nerve after nerve.
80
The follow-up to last year’s fine debut New Long Leg is more focused, with Florence Shaw’s low-key narration framed by powerful sounds.
80
The U.K. group could split up and do poetry and post-rock independently of one another, but somehow it works together.
80
Dry Cleaning surpass themselves with a gentler, broader sound on Stumpwork.
80
It’s unlikely to win over the naysayers, but, for those already enamoured with their kitchen sink Dadaism, ‘Stumpwork’ is yet more magic from Dry Cleaning.
78
The London quartet moves beyond the sardonic post-punk of its debut, exploring new sounds and moods while Florence Shaw reveals hitherto unheard subtleties in her famously low-key delivery.
70
Like the most resolute artists, with the provocative and relentless Stumpwork, they admirably move their boundaries further afield regardless of appealing to a bigger audience.
70
Dry Cleaning were a breath of fresh air for taking the mundanity of everyday life and eclectic YouTube comments as inspiration for their sound, and now they appear to be rolling with the breeze.
40
Any moments of flourish are rendered dreary by Florence Shaw’s one-note meanderings about gaming mouses, brain parasites and Arctic expeditions she isn’t on.
The production here is insanely good but i would enjoy this way better if Florence Shaw didn’t sound like the Google Translate woman on most of the tracks.
God.. that album cover is so uncomfortable lol
This is the one post punk band that I just don’t really get. I still think that overall this is a good album, but idk if I’d really come back to it. It’s a slight improvement from their last one because the instrumentation is a little bit more diverse. The vocals are interesting but sometimes they can get a little too one note. I was hoping they’d explore more territory vocally but idk it didn’t really feel like they ... read more
I really enjoy this album it reflects the equal mundanity and excitement of bri'ish life
fav songs are hot penny day, dont press me and my absolute fav kwenchy kups
things are shit but they're gonna be okay, i'm gonna see the water caterpillar
didn’t rly expect to like this as much as i did, but damn this was nice. weirdly cozy, but cold. the slow guitars may have dragged on for a little, but that worked really well will the softer, monotone vocals.
The spoken word gets a bit grading but it works well enough in this minimalist post punk style.
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Track List
| 1 | Anna Calls From the Arctic 4:57 | 81 |
| 2 | Kwenchy Kups 2:45 | 78 |
| 3 | Gary Ashby 2:10 | 79 |
| 4 | Driver's Story 3:41 | 70 |
| 5 | Hot Penny Day 3:37 | 82 |
| 6 | Stumpwork 4:11 | 70 |
| 7 | No Decent Shoes For Rain 5:57 | 77 |
| 8 | Don't Press Me 1:50 | 78 |
| 9 | Conservative Hell 3:48 | 76 |
| 10 | Liberty Log 6:52 | 77 |
| 11 | Icebergs 5:23 | 72 |
Total Length: 45 minutes
Year End Lists
| #1 | / | Sound Opinions: Jim DeRogatis |
| #8 | / | Sound Opinions: Greg Kot |
| #9 | / | Loud and Quiet |
| #9 | / | MOJO |
| #9 | / | Record Collector |
| #10 | / | DIY |
| #11 | / | Les Inrocks |
| #13 | / | Beats Per Minute |
| #13 | / | Under the Radar |
| #14 | / | Far Out Magazine |
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8mo
Definitely underrated : I understand the spoken work delivery might not be everyone's cup of tea, but for something I can't point my finger on, this feels very refreshing !
Added on: June 14, 2022