British band Dry Cleaning, the pride of the 4AD label, is coming to Lithuania

Music agency "8 Days A Week" announces another summer concert with guitars. It has been confirmed that the pride of the hardcore label 4AD, the British band Dry Cleaning, is coming to Lithuania on 15 June. The band from South London, a favourite of music lovers all over the world, will present their new work in Vilnius. This will be Dry Cleaning's first live performance in the Baltics.

The sale of tickets for Dry Cleaning's concert in Vilnius will start on Monday, 11 March, but already today Dry Cleaning fans can save money and buy advance tickets cheaper. A special code from 8 Days A Week is required.

In the late 2020s, the prestigious record label 4AD released the single "Scratchcard Lanyard" by the little-known South London band Dry Cleaning. The monotone declamatory vocals accompanied by an energetic post-punk instrumental captivated everyone. The mood of anxiety resonated with the cowboy pandemic that was sweeping the world at the time.

Influential music publication Rolling Stone immediately declared it a must-hear song. And we say it's a must-hear, not just this one, but all the rest of the band's songs live on 15 June.

Advance Concert Arrangements

Advance tickets are always cheaper. Tickets for Dry Cleaning's show in the capital will go on sale on 11 March, but the band's fans in Lithuania can already buy advance tickets now and save money. However, you will need a code from 8 Days A Week. Message them on Facebook or at www.8dw.lt and you'll receive a special code. The codes are valid for a very limited time. Don't sleep. The pre-sale ends on 11 March at 11am. The public sale at the Tickets LT box office and online at www.bilietai.lt starts on 11 March at 11am.

Classic of the genre - the cheapest tickets will be enough for the fastest.
Save money, but don't save!

Win/win.

Code tickets are very limited.

Dry Cleaning, the surrealists of everyday life, call themselves a post-punk band, but as the genre is bound to do, they're constantly pushing themselves out of their comfort zone. According to Under The Radar, we are not witnessing the future of post-punk, but the birth of post-everything. "Dry Cleaning sound like Annette Peacock singing in classic British post-punk bands like The Fall, PIL or Siouxsie and the Banshees.

They're certainly not a "comfortable" guitar band that can be easily pigeonholed into a particular genre. The band's lyrics are collages of newspaper quotes, online comments, adverts or overheard conversations. Disconnection, escape, dreams, complicated feelings of love, anger, revenge, anxiety, sluggishness, forgetfulness and similar experiences are familiar to all of us.

Just a few days ago, the band's first short albums - Sweet Princess and Boundary Road Snacks and Drinks - were released as a single album. In 2018, when the band was only known in London, they were only available on cassette. To bring awareness to their lesser-heard work, Dry Cleaning are embarking on a major tour in the US and Europe this season. It's great to finally be in Vilnius. Interestingly, the band has deliberately chosen smaller venues for their concerts, so they will be playing two concerts in a row in many cities. Fortunately, the British will reach Vilnius in the summer, so we will be able to host them in the large courtyard of the Lukiškės prison, where many of Dry Cleaning's friends and colleagues have already played.

Music snobs from Pitchfork wrote ironically at the beginning of the band's career that the members of Dry Cleaning, "drummer Nick Buxton, guitarist Tom Dowse, and bassist Lewis Maynard, look like a Metallica cover band. However, the lead singer Florence Shaw looks more like punk poet John Cooper Clarke than James Hetfield. Frightened, or perhaps more frightening, Florence presses her bright red fingernails against the microphone stand as if she were climbing a rope. You can imagine her standing dead calm, while behind her, the three musicians are as dark as they can get. The singer's gaze darts around the room as she takes in the changing energy of the audience. Instead of singing, Florence, in a slightly anhedonic tone... "Florence just speaks, as if she were a call centre worker reading the same text for the thousandth time". "Enter what you really feel, close everything and delete the story - maybe Florence Shaw will find it." - adds Pitchfork.

"The world of Dry Cleaning is a strange mimesis of ourselves. Their songs confuse objects rarely mentioned in songs. The band presents a strange image that focuses on funny everyday details. These little bits of rubbish that glitter in their songs seem to reflect both the absurdity of life and the unstoppable sense of humour that binds the band together.

One of the most interesting British post-everything bands, Dry Cleaning seem to have brought out the best in one another. "I think anyone can make music, but not everyone believes they can make music," says Nick Buxton. "When you feel brave enough and confident enough to do it, you just do it and don't think about why."

About Dry Cleaning

South London friends formed Dry Cleaning in early 2018. At the time, they were already in the process of neglecting music: Tom Dowse was working as an art lecturer at university, Nick Buxton was making furniture and about to start his own business. Together with Lewis Maynard, they had been focused on music throughout their youth, playing in a number of punk rock and hardcore bands, but never seemed to make it further than South East London.

By the time they were 30, their motivation was waning. Music was just an occasional weekend activity. When friends asked Nick Buxton if he would be interested in starting another band, he wondered: do I really want to try this again? Random weekends became regular and they started rehearsing in Lewis Maynard's mum's tiny garage.

Bringing in Florence Shaw, who had no stage experience, was not so much a deliberate decision as a coincidence. The illustrator and art teacher met Tom Dowse for a drink at the end of 2017 before an exhibition by sculptor Bill Barrett. They had known each other since their studies at the Royal College of Art. Florence Shaw asked what Tom had been up to lately. He pulled out his phone and played one of the demos of his new band. Florence Shaw was impressed. The colourless sound of her voice against the gloomy music suddenly seemed to fit the guitarist, all the coordinates seemed to fall into place. It took Florence a few more months to be convinced.

Although Florence has never tried to sing herself, music has always played an important role in her life. Her father was a musician and the family garage is full of guitars and synthesizers that she "tried out" as a child. Listening to British bands such as The Smiths, British Sea Power and The Specials, she grew into a teenager who didn't want to take her headphones off. However, music took a back seat when she started studying art.

It was Florence Shaw's stage fright that seems to have given a new impetus to three intelligent musicians who were beginning to question their careers in music. Out of boredom, they formed Dry Cleaning and were immediately welcomed into the prestigious 4AD family as soon as the latter saw the band live.

"This young London quartet attracts effortlessly and is incredibly British, with an ace card in Florence Shaw, a vocalist who rarely sings, but delivers her lyrics as if she's apathetically talking on the phone." -

They have expanded their tastes and expressions along the way. On their debut recordings, Dry Cleaning tried their hand at post-punk, but on their first album, New Long Leg (2021), a whole new bundle of influences can be heard: psychedelia, dreamy pop, and even 1980s metal. The band is also looking for a new sound on the later Stumpwork (2022) and last year's Swampy EP.

We are looking forward to another classic and quality open air concert.
Just keep your fingers crossed for the good weather and make plans for another new acquaintance.
Don't miss this concert!

Fone of the amazing Dry Cleaning live:

Arte Concert: https://youtu.www.drycleaningband.com
Live on KEXP: https://youtu.be/RoLrCTZLvrk
Live from BandCamp HQ: https://youtu.be/W6l1GYjOt-A  

References:

www.drycleaningband.com
https://drycleaning.bandcamp.com
www.facebook.com/drycleaningband
www.instagram.com/drycleaningband

www.youtube.com/@drycleaningband