On “Don’t Press Me,” Dry Cleaning’s first new song in a year and the introductory single to Stumpwork, their just-announced follow-up to New Long Leg, frontwoman Florence Shaw is almost singing. Granted, it’s only a three-note little scrap of melody, assayed with the animation and conviction of the 30th person in line to renew their license, but it’s a new sound for the London post-punk band, a strange little out-cropping in their music’s scraped-flat landscape, accentuated by oddly jaunty handclaps and whistling. A busy little riff pile-drives away in the background, sounding less like the rhythmic spine to a rock song and more like a printer processing someone’s forgotten 300-page document. In front of it, Shaw murmurs dispatches from her perpetual land of unfeeling; “Just don’t touch my gaming mouse” is the two-minute song’s only legible sentiment. It’s a testament to Shaw’s flat anti-charisma and her chemistry with the band that she continues to make anomie this catchy, appealing, and funny.
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