PUGS REVIEWS: Dry Cleaning

Hollywood Avondale, Auckland 

3^rd June 2026 

Welcome to the second notch in the already wide belt of Strange Universe: Winter 2026, a multi-genre festival scattered across numerous dates and venues in Tamaki Makaurau. Banished Music have joined forces with Strange News touring to help us all pretend the season of gigs (and irresponsibility) isn’t miles away.  

In the spirit of transparency, I’m a fresh-out-the-tumbler fan of Dry Cleaning. A name like that gets you brownie points right out the gate though; there’s nothing more post-punk to me than an arbitrary moniker.   

After a rushed end to the workday follow by a wolfing of a Nepalese-Indian platter from up the road, I was ready to shake up my Dahl at The Hollywood.  I wondered whether Dry Cleaning weren’t more of a fit for Double Whammy after my first listens, but the old gold framed them beautifully. Their silhouettes bounced off the back wall, bubbling together as one strange organism. 

The gig was all about their Jan album Secret Love.  I didn’t expect to bop and twist so joyfully when, from afar, it all appeared pretty avant-garde.  But up close, the drama is left to the tunes and you’re left with a band whose comradery brings you into the fold. 

What I loved about the frontman of Dry Cleaning, was that there really wasn’t one at all.  Lewis Maynard’s hip swings were contagious, his thick and unrelenting bass taking a song or two to settle in with the rest of the operation.  Guitarist Tom Dowse charmed us with his brimming enthusiasm and cheerful quips backed by some hearty shredding.  

I had concerns the live renditions might drown out the passages of lead vocalist Florence Shaw, but for the most part, these were unwarranted. Shaw’s presence flowed from faerie to witch; using phalanges to retrieve mental diary entries from the misty air at The Hollywood.  Deeply smooth vocals slid gently between the instruments as a buttery texture rather than a forward presence.  

Dry Cleaning were a slick, professional operation with all the mystery and fun of being brand new. 

4/5 

Check our more from Pugs - HERE