Live Review: Dream Wife @ Rescue Rooms
- Ali Glen
- Apr 10, 2022
- 3 min read
Dream Wife are a band who have had to wait a long time to tour their sophomore album, So When You Gonna…, an album released at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic which was very obviously designed to be played live. It was all the more joyful, as a result of this, to see the fruit’s of the bands labour finally come to ripen, with an excellent occupation of Rescue Rooms. Ali Glen reviews.
Following an excellent supporting set from Glaswegian indie rockers Lucia and the Best Boys, Dream Wife took to the stage, opening with Hey Heartbreaker from their self-titled debut, before embarking on a string of tracks from their second record. It is notable that the songs from the more recent of albums are met with an equal fervour to the older hits, proving that the pandemic has done nothing to dampen the appeal of the punk rockers.
Dream Wife show that they are truly a band for 2020s in the build up to Somebody, where they request that “all the bad b***hes” come to the front, before affirming that “being a bad b***h has no gender”, and that “gender is a social construct” that they intend to tear down. Indeed, the song follows through with this promise, as frontwoman Rakel Mjoll leads the crowd in a defiant chant of “I am not my body, I am somebody”.
The band continue to try to make the gig-going experience as enjoyable as possible, by asking the audience if “everyone [was] respecting each other’s boundaries”. Unfortunately, this isn’t universally true of the crowd as a whole, due to some overzealous attempts at moshpits from a minority of the audience’s older members. Whilst I am no stranger to a pit, it is important for people to bear in mind the willingness of a crowd to participate, especially when it’s a younger, predominantly female group. Nevertheless, credit has to go to the band for trying to ensure the best experience for everyone.
''This whole sequence acts as an ingenious way to hold the crowd’s interest''
The festivities and themes of inclusivity continue into Sports!, where the crowd are split in two, and, led by guitarist Alice Go on the left, and bassist Bella Podpadec on the left, are plunged into a dramatic battle over who can make the most noise. The two dramatically feign striking each other with their respective instruments, before Mjoll, acting out getting information through her headset, announces that everyone’s a winner! This whole sequence acts as an ingenious way to hold the crowd’s interest, and speaks for the excellent showmanship that the whole band possesses.
In a new song titled The Leech, Rakel implores the subject and antagonist of the song, a man who is seemingly instigating a manipulative relationship, to “have some f***ing empathy”. It is yet another rallying cry from the band, showing that, even as they develop their sound, they will continue to be upfront with their messages, and never shy away from talking about causes they believe in.
The crowd finally erupt into a moshing frenzy as the 3-piece embark on their final songs of the evening, beginning with F.U.U, where Rakel once again leads the crowd, this time in a chant of “I spy with my little eye, bad b***es”. Following this could prove to be difficult, but in Let’s Make Out, the band have an excellent closer. As the crowd jumps up and down in unison upon instruction, Dream Wife show that their excellent stage presence and progressive messages have garnered a young audience that is hooked on their sound and personas. In an era where punk rock and post punk is facing a predominantly male led revival, it is crucial that bands such as Dream Wife exist, not only to hammer home the idea of the concert as a space for everyone, but also to inspire young people of all genders to come forward and express themselves through this kind of music, and at Rescue Rooms that night, it is entirely possible that this occurred.
Ali Glen
Edited by: Amrit Virdi
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