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At the beginning of this year, Dry Cleaning released their new album, “Secret Love”. The third album from the London-based group consisting of lyricist Florence Shaw, guitarist Tom Dowse, drummer Nick Buxton,and bassist Lewis Maynard received glowing accolades across the globe.
Dry Cleaning shares an expanded version of the record, “Secret Love (Deluxe Edition)”, featuring three brand-new tracks recorded during album sessions with producer Cate Le Bon last year; ‘Grass’, ‘I Have The Key’, and the recently released single, ‘Sliced by a Fingernail’. “Secret Love (Deluxe Edition)” also features alternate Erica Eyres artwork.
Of the Deluxe Edition, bassist Lewis Maynard comments: “As difficult as it is to choose the final tracklist, we’ve learned with previous records that songs which don’t make the album will see the light of day and sometimes even receive more attention. This is the first time we’ve released a deluxe edition, and we’re especially excited because it includes some of our favourite songs from the session.”#Vocalist Florence Shaw goes into detail on each new track, saying: “The three new songs have a lot of tenderness and vulnerability to them. They’re about feelings of love and loss but also humour that comes along with those heavy feelings.”
“‘Sliced by a Fingernail’ is about looking for places to hide; fantasies like packing yourself into the centre of a huge flower bud, but also more everyday ones like being part of the crowd at a karaoke bar.”
“‘Grass’ is about grieving for someone still alive. The lyrics use some metaphors from nature inspired by two trips, one to see the melting Rhône Glacier in Switzerland and the other to Laurissilva, the ‘living fossil’ ancient forest on the island of Madeira. Whilst it has lots of imperfections and was a bit improvised, Cate had a real affinity for the vocal performance we chose for this track.”
“The lyrics to ‘I Have The Key’ came from a feeling of sadness and helplessness at the state of the world. The genocide in Gaza had begun around the time I was writing some of the lyrics. The saxophone part wasimprovised by Bruce Lamont at the Loft studio in Chicago, and the structure and delivery of the vocal, as well as the choice of words came as a response to his playing.”
Accompanying the “Secret Love (Deluxe Edition)”, BULLYACHE (who choreographed visualisers for all eleven songs off “Secret Love“), joined forces with the band again to produce dedicated visuals for the three new tracks, all shot at the Mandrake Hotel in London.
“The band delivers Shaw’s postcards from the edge with music that’s appropriately ironic and mordant, but also varied and at points even kind of rousing, from the Eighties college-pop strum of ‘Blood’ to the street-rock strut of ‘The Cute Things’.”- Rolling Stone, The Best Albums of 2026 So Far
“It’s an album of unusual pleasures—the assured musicality provides the immediate hook, holding you over until you focus on the lyrics. Once that happens, Ms. Shaw’s uncanny magic takes over.” – Wall Street Journal
“Dry Cleaning is one of those bands with the capacity to change your life.” – Paste
