PHOTOS: Dry Cleaning – New Century Hall, Manchester – 25/04/2026

UK post-punk’s wellspring is in no danger of drying out any time soon, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still appreciate a band who stand out. Dry Cleaning released their album Secret Love earlier this year, an album that’s produced surprisingly divided reactions compared to the typical adoration of their Windmill scene peers. That alone makes this a far more distinct prospect, and with the additional thorns and unfriendliness it bears, the album feels worthy of a much more thorough dissection overall. Nevertheless, there’ll always be an audience for this sort of thing, especially when it proves so uniquely divisive. Manchester’s New Century Hall is no micro-venue, so clearly something about Dry Cleaning’s terse approach is working. With themselves shrouded in near-darkness and sporting the left-field opener of rapper Tony Bontana, it’s all anything but typical, but unfailingly intriguing. Dean Cavanagh headed down to check it out.

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Tony Bontana

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Dry Cleaning

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Photos by Dean Cavanagh