London-based British/Icelandic trio Dream Wife come to Manchester’s Deaf Institute off the back of their self-titled debut album which was released in January via Lucky Number.
Since forming in 2015 as a college art school project, the pop punk band Dream Wife have become one of the top up-and-coming bands in the UK, gathering sweeping praise for their early releases, ferocious live shows and sell out tours, leading to the band touring the UK, Europe and US, hitting plenty of festival stages around the world along the way.
The trio Rakel Mjöll (lead vocals), Alice Go (guitar and vocals) and Bella Podpadec (bass and vocals) came together while they were studying at Brighton University in the U.K., with roommates Rakel – who was born in Iceland and raised in California – and Bella deciding they needed to enlist hotshot guitarist Alice while a few Jägerbombs deep on an indie disco dance-floor. Alice responded to the pair’s Facebook message instantly and the dayglo world of Dream Wife was born. Initially formed as part of a performance art project, they quickly realized that their chemistry was too powerful for them just to be a one-time thing. They took themselves out on the road under their own steam, touring Canada and Europe with only four songs and without a booking agent, promoter or a tour manager.
Speaking of their band name choice, a name chosen as commentary on society’s objectification of women, the band explain, “It’s a commentary on the objectification of women; the 1950s American Dream stereotype package. Having the dream house, the dream car and the dream wife. We want to flip the script on that. Women aren’t objects; we don’t just fit into one mold. At the start, we joked around calling each other our wives, but by supporting one another, celebrating achievements together and finding strength in female solidarity we’re reclaiming the concept of a ‘wife’. Being in a band is a marriage in itself.”
Their gigs are a riot of handmade props and stage sets that cover everything from space beaches to haunted graveyards, while their finely tuned show is the product of extreme DIY beginnings.
Where and when do Dream Wife perform in Manchester?
Dream Wife headline at Manchester’s Deaf Institute on 24 March 2018.
