Listen to “Strong Feelings” by Dry Cleaning

“Strong Feelings,” a new song from UK art-rock band Dry Cleaning, is a bundle of contradictions, wringing pathos out of detachment, narrative out of non sequiturs. The quartet’s strong clutch of EPs and singles stamped an identity around speak-singing, mundane profundity, and churning post-punk, with dry observations on everything from Meghan Markle to personal wellness. The track’s release coincides with the announcement of their debut album, New Long Leg, and it’s a fitting introduction, more upfront than anything they’ve done to date yet still slippery as ever. Where last year’s “Scratchcard Lanyard” added some Byrds-style jangle, “Strong Feelings” is built around an ominous bass groove, shifty percussion, and a slowly building cobweb of guitar that finally turns iridescent like an oil puddle. Under the oversight of PJ Harvey collaborator John Parish, the focus is on the cool vocals of Florence Shaw, a college lecturer and visual artist, who seemingly lays out her lyrical M.O. from the start. (“Just an emo dead stuff collector, things come to the brain,” she deadpans.) But desperation mounts as odd tidbits emerge—“I’ve been thinking about eating that hot dog for hours,” “My only ambition is to rip out the roots of your hair.” Is this a student-debt generation’s Grace Jones? The next TikTok craze for Life Without Buildings-loving teens? Shaw isn’t telling. “Too much to ask about,” she closes. “So don’t ask.”