Album Review: Dream Wife

We live in a recycling age, but truth to tell, it’s not a new concept. Every 20-30 years, culture gets up-cycled. In the ’90s, so-called Riot Girrls shouted, swore and menstruated, espousing a new-wave of femininity and refusing to buckle beneath patriarchal oppression. Well, that’s how the media painted it.
Dream Wife are, on the face of it, a throwback to this movement; a girl-group with attitude, playing their own instruments while giving no fucks. Formulaic perhaps, but if you’re going to use a formula, make sure it’s a good one.

This mix of corrosive buzzsaw guitars and lean, slinky bass-lines, coupled with catchy tunes – all belted out with the subtlety of a kick to the face – makes for something close to pop perfection. The three-piece (ignoring the male drummer) are easy on the eye too, which never hurt anyone’s career. In truth, the feminism is lowercase, as there’s no clear manifesto (personifesto?). They’re more about treating life like a rugby ball and seeing how far you can run with it. And having fun in the process.

Notably, there’s a duality at play throughout this debut offering, with the band offsetting pop deftness against piss and vinegar aggression. It’s definitely a case of kittens with machine-guns. On ‘Love Without Reason’ they guilelessly declaim, “Let’s be kids and fall in love”, while ’F.U.U’ – with a knowing wink to a certain iconic group – states, “I’ll tell you what I want, what I really really want.” However, there’s no indeterminate zigga-zig ah-ing for these girls; they wanna “Fuck you up!” You’ve been warned..

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Record label: Lucky Number
Listen to: 'F.U.U.'

Rating: 7/10