Tuesday 5/26: Dream Wife—"So When You Gonna..."
Today, we share our thoughts on the latest single by the London punk band Dream Wife.
Welcome to Endless Scroll, the brainchild of Eli Enis (he/him) and Eric Bennett (they/them). Since Feb. 2019, we’ve been a weekly podcast about music, the internet, and where those two things intersect. Now we’re, also a M-F newsletter about songs. Our format is simple: a link to a song and a short take from each of us about what we think of it. Each day of the week has a corresponding genre: Monday is indie, Tuesday is punk, Wednesday is hip-hop, Thursday is pop, and Friday is misc.
Today, we share our thoughts on “So When You Gonna…” by the London punk band Dream Wife.
Dream Wife—”So When You Gonna…”
Eric Bennett:
“So When You Gonna…,” the latest single from London punk band Dream Wife’s upcoming sophomore release is their most promising yet. Lead vocalist Rakel Mjöll’s sneering delivery calls to mind the wit and command of acts that cleared this path like X-Ray Spex. Just as razor sharp as the vocal performance is the track’s shuddering, nervous guitar part, which sits low in the mix for most of the track. As the song burns on, we get a delightfully funny spoken word break and, finally, a climatic finish as Mjöll screams to the sky and the guitars finally break free.
Eli Enis:
Compared to the first single Dream Wife released from their upcoming sophomore record, this new one, the title track, sounds less like a Hyundai commercial soundtrack and more like. . .a punk song. On their 2018 debut and their earlier singles, the London band cast themselves as eclectics who could comfortably open for either Cherry Glazerr or, like, The Dum Dum Girls. However, I think they’re really at their best when frontperson Rakel Mjöll lets rip her arresting belt and the band actually sound invested in what they’re playing, as they do here. On its face, this cut is rambunctious and catchy and Mjöll has an engrossing delivery, but after a few listens, something about it registers as a bit feigned to me.
The spoken-word bit in the middle is funny, but after Mjöll huffs that she has to “spell it out” for her desired smoocher, she just repeats the same one-line hook she’s been yelling for the last two minutes. “So when you gonna kiss me?” is forward enough as is, no? I want to like Dream Wife, but if we’re talking contemporary punk bands with the production value to fill 2000-cap rooms and songwriting choices that check all the boxes to be The Wild Punk Band At Coachella, I’ll opt for something with more of a ragged authenticity like Amyl and the Sniffers. Or hell, even some of those early Idles songs—before they pivoted to Jeff Tiedrich-ass lib-punk. “So When You Gonna…” hook me, Dream Wife?