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Dream Wife Image
Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 15 Ratings

  • Summary: This is the debut full-length release for the London based indie-pop trio of Rakel Mjöll, Alice Go, and Bella Podpadec.
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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 16
  2. Negative: 0 out of 16
  1. 100
    The trio are made up of Rakel Mjöll on lead vocals, Alice Go on guitar and Bella Podpadec on bass, and their glimmering punk-pop is the most exciting thing you’re going to hear this dreary January, and quite likely all 2018.
  2. Jan 26, 2018
    80
    If the point of a debut album is to capture a moment, to provide a snapshot of a new, hungry band bursting at the seams with hope and abandon, then this must already be one of the debut albums of the year.
  3. 80
    Dream Wife is a fierce finger to the patriarchy for a fresh and socially aware generation.
  4. Feb 1, 2018
    80
    Opener Let’s Make Out begins with 60s-style, chorused “whooos” before Mjöll (imagine Karen O with Björk vowels) urges us to have a snog, embracing you in a hook so strong you may well find strangers puckering up. That of the blissful, blistering Fire is even harder to escape, while Love Without Passion is a sweet hymn to a pure, non-sexual deep connection. Whatever their mood, Dream Wife are a band to fall for.
  5. Feb 6, 2018
    75
    Dream Wife is an album inextricably linked with the band’s own youthful energy, as it is projected from every single guitar lick, vocal tick and musical explosion across its 35 minutes. This can prove a little wearing or agitating for those not in the right state of mind, as their brand of pop-rock is some of the most invasive and bolshy likely to be heard on a debut album. However, if you’re looking for an aural caffeine kick, a rock and roll sugar rush or an emphatic “I don’t give a fuck!” then look no further.
  6. Uncut
    Jan 22, 2018
    70
    The way they smudge together sounds can feel more untidy than enjoyable, but when they get it right, as on the riff-heavy "taste" and "Spend The Night," it's exhilarating stuff. [Feb 2018, p.24]
  7. Q Magazine
    Jan 22, 2018
    60
    Dream Wife draw on the politicised ire of Le Tigre and Bikini Kill while putting their own fun, frivolous spin on things. [Feb 2018, p.111]

See all 16 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. Mar 17, 2018
    9
    So. I was racking my head to decide whether to give this album a 9 or a 10. I settled on 9 because giving it a 10 implies perfection and itSo. I was racking my head to decide whether to give this album a 9 or a 10. I settled on 9 because giving it a 10 implies perfection and it isn't perfect, but isn't that kind of the point? They aren't trying to be perfect, they are having fun and sending a message at the same time.

    They are reminiscent of bands like the Runaways or early Blondie with smatterings of The Sounds or Elastica. However, it is important to note that despite the obvious inspirations, they are doing their own thing and it is excellent.
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  2. Jan 29, 2018
    8
    The beautiful face and a modern look only serve as a front for the girls of Dream Wife, behind all we have only a bold and warm Grunge that inThe beautiful face and a modern look only serve as a front for the girls of Dream Wife, behind all we have only a bold and warm Grunge that in fact, represents in a unique way the London scene and is one more of the new names that we should stay of eye. Like Hinds and L. Witch, the group represents an effervescent ascent in a monotonous and static setting proving that a reinvention of the environment is always welcome and should be encouraged.
    With a brotherhood and ranging from the serene to the aggressive, their debut album the self-titled "Dream Wife" has a very interesting story behind, the band started from a false art project and after realizing that they were really good they left for studio session which resulted in a cohesively worked influenced by Bikini Kill and Sleater-Kinney and to a certain extent by Grimes and Spice Girls, a mixture that worked as we see.
    Punk in the right measure, the album is a journey through the jovial universe of the three members of the group. Charismatic vocals together with an energetic instrumental like the soundtrack of a persecution in a film in contrast with letters that demonstrate real feelings without sounding cliché or emptiness construct an extroverted and accessible work without forgetting the political discourse and to some extent a sensual air that pervades discreetly from beginning to end of the album.
    As a perfect portrait of the new generation of women who do not accept order and who do not take home disgust, Dream Wife emerges victorious as one of the best works of the beginning of the year and certainly one of those that will make part of the playlist having a song suitable for each situation. We can not fail to mention "Somebody" and "Taste" as the best record tracks and songs that deserve to be heard and repeated without restraint.
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  3. Feb 23, 2018
    7
    Really promising new artist, putting some life in to British rock music, which has felt stagnant for a little while. Coming right out the gateReally promising new artist, putting some life in to British rock music, which has felt stagnant for a little while. Coming right out the gate with a really strong first track and maintaining a decent level throughout the track-list, the energy and power in this record is really enjoyable. Every song on this album was fun and engaging, but many didn't really surpass this level and didn't meet the same heights as tracks like "Let's Make Out." Really good debut overall. Expand