Dream Wife are a trio of women who sing angry, jangly pop-punk songs about some pretty deep issues including gay love, misogyny and the rights women have over their body.
An album that starts with the lyrics “Fuck sorry, fuck please” probably isn’t going to be filled with songs for Heart or SmoothFM, is it?!
It is full of riot grrrl guitars, although there are a couple of indie tracks on the album that make it sound softer than their debut which jars when you listen to the subject matter. ‘Temporary’ is a case in point, a heartfelt song about being there for someone who feels like their world is crashing down around them after a miscarriage.
‘After The Rain’ which includes the lyrics “It’s my choice my life / It’s my will my sacrifice / My body my right / Not for others to decide” is a tiny, delicate song about a women’s right to decide to have an abortion or not.
Despite some of the dark subject matter at heart, this album is a call to stop waiting and start doing. ‘RH RN’ (a shortened version of right here, right now) is a demand to live in the present, ‘So When You Gonna...’ is even more impatient asking “When you gonna take that hand off my leg and move it higher up? / Pull me closer by the waist and move me higher up? / When you gonna kiss me?!”
It took me a couple of listens to get this album but now it makes sense. I’ve always liked the Scandi twang of singer Rakel Mjoll and the pop-punk racket made by Alice Go and Bella Podpadec but now I love the lyrics too. Oh, and as I’ve always said, music sounds better on neon pink vinyl...
Tracks to try: Sports!, So When You Gonna... or Temporary.