London-based rock group Dream Wife produced an evening of pure creativity and ecstasy at Canvas on Oxford Road in an explosive punk affair as they performed their new album ‘Social Lubrication’.
Inspired by the retro comedy film of the same name, Dream Wife formed in 2018 at art school.
The group consists of Rakel Mjoll (lead vocals), Alice Go (guitar, vocals) and Bella Podpadec (bass, vocals) supported by Alex Paveley on drums.
Infamous for their song topics, Dream Wife focus on socio-political issues such as feminism, body image and gender roles. Before their final song, Rakel asked her ‘bad b*tches’ – including their trans fan base – to come up to the front of the stage and start a mosh pit.
The fans were introduced to two supporting acts for the night which included Jewish drag queen Ash Kenazi and American-British indie band Prima Queen. Both acts warmed up the audience with their original songs which felt intimate as warm orange lights surrounded the set.
Ash Kenazi later joined the stage again to introduce Dream Wife and all three musicians danced about to heavy rock music with overpowering drums. Dream Wife’s setlist included songs such as Social Lubrication, Love You More, Hot (Don’t Date A Musician), with a surprise performance of All The Things She Said, the song made famous by t.A.T.u.
Opener Hey, Heartbreaker was a dramatic introduction to the stage for Rakel, Alice and Bella. The energy lasted through the entire set as the trio continuously bounced around the stage.
Rakel gave more traditional rock performances than on their recorded tracks, as she fry-screamed the lyrics in an eccentric maxi wrap-dress. Alice dressed in leather pants with stickers covering her chest and Bella took a vintage approach with a casual tee, trainers and cotton shorts.
Dream Wife produced an exceptional show. Vocals exploded out of the speakers that the guitarists were standing on.
The group’s show was an extraordinary journey as their songs in the debut album were shaped by their feminist outlook, like Somebody and F.U.U, which openly rejects sexual objectification, and Validation, which felt like listening to a diary extract with a dual sense of participation and envy, or singalong tracks like Sports!, that had a sardonic, alt-rock sound.
The entire show was pure creativity and ecstasy with emotions increasing after each song. This was definitely the perfect demonstration of artistry.
Featured image by Sophia Webster
