Dry Cleaning (band) – Queen City Sounds and Art

Buddy Wynkoop, photo courtesy the artists

Buddy Wynkoop’s herky jerky rhythms on “Relatable” are anchored by math rock-esque precision with spookily playful synths and altogether immediately recall 1970s Devo and Gary Numan. But the nervy energy and particular brand of eccentric irony is very much of this moment framed in the lingo and sensibilities of today. Talk of telling someone they’re relatable, the self-examination to the point of neurotic self-obsession, the self-medication, the crying things out and telling yourself it’s all fine. Maybe that’s something people did in decades past but it’s definitely something people do now. But with the spiky musical dynamics and borderline frantic energy and self-awareness Buddy Wynkoop on this song at times reminds one of the late, great Lithics, who were also from Portland, Oregon, perhaps also of Ganser and Dry Cleaning. But Buddy Wynkoop strips things back a little before dashing its songs with furiously creative self-indulgence. Listen to “Relatable” on Spotify and follow Buddy Wynkoop at the links below.

Buddy Wynkoop on Facebook

Buddy Wynkoop on Instagram

Buddy Wynkoop on Apple Music

Cleo Handler asks a lot of surreal questions and poses odd scenarios in her song “but i’m a vegetarian.” The vocal style is deadpan and conversational but melodic enough to be singing and in that way like a strange story set to minimal guitar riffing and drums. The vibe is definitely in the realm of King Missile, Dead Milkmen and Camper Van Beethoven in that the wry and absurd sense of humor informs lines about eccentric aspirations. “what if i became a carnivore, what if i became an arsonist, what if i robbed a fucking bank, what if i became a grand larcenist” gives us a peek into idle, dark fantasy and mentions of listening to podcasts about fucked up men and going for a run contrasts that with some of the most mundane pursuits that some people think makes them edgy. It really is choice humor in an understated way one might more often see underlying the film work of Miranda July in which the humor isn’t spelled out for you but which in aggregate offers sharp analysis of society and the stream of consciousness daydreams that can drift into your brain upon which some act and others shake themselves out of or enjoy for the ridiculousness of these unusual psychological impulses. Listen to “but i’m a vegetarian” on Spotify and follow Cleo Handler at the links below where you can also listen to the rest of her recently released album gold on Bandcamp, a record that fans of experimental post-punk band Dry Cleaning may enjoy as well.