We’ve known Dream Wife are special for quite a while now. When we put the band on the cover of this very magazine, back in late 2016, it was because it was already evident they were a force unlike any other. Demanding attention, and getting it, this is a girl gang that have no time for bullshit. As they prepare to drop their debut full-length,
we’re already calling it one of the best of 2018. Just you wait…
Hey Alice, congrats on announcing your debut album – it must be a super exciting time for you guys?
Thanks, we are all very very pumped for the album to be set free.
Have you been sat on the full album for long? When did you record?
Recording this has been a fairly long process, as we have been laying this debut down over the last year. It’s tricky with this release being ‘the debut’, as we really wanted it to be perfect and exactly how we saw it before putting it out there. It’s been a journey, but we are really happy and proud of where it’s at, and we just want to show you all already! In a lot of ways having been touring and playing some amazing shows over the last year with some of our favourite bands (The Kills, Sleigh Bells) this album feels a bit like a milestone for us, where we are at and how far we have come. It feels like a celebration of everything we have achieved so far.
Can you tell us about some of the topics you cover in your lyrics?
Our lyrical content across the album is definitely a message of solidarity, of female-identifying people changing peoples mind about just what a woman is, does or could be.
Lyrically we flip the script.
Our song ‘Somebody’ addresses issues of sexual assault, and the way in which that is dealt with within our society. This song is about women standing together and having a conversation around that.
However, on the other side of the coin, there is our song ‘FUU’. This is full throttle energy and lyrically references the Spice Girls ‘Wannabe’. There is still something so powerful about a woman singing “I’ll tell you what I want, what I really really want”, especially when followed swiftly after with “I’m gonna fuck you up!”
As Rakel sings in ‘Act My Age’, “Do I amuse you, do I confuse you?” Lyrically this album is all about juxtaposition, but also about the conversation.
Do you have a favourite song on the album?
It’s hard to pick a top track, maybe its the same as choosing a favourite child, it’s kind of impossible. As a body of work, all the tracks come together and really say something together. However, they all mean different things individually. We love them all.
The record’s self-titled – do you feel it’s a definitive statement for who you are as a band?
This debut is like, “Hey it’s Dream Wife, we have arrived. Check it.” To have the debut self-titled felt like both a statement and an introduction, nuff said.
How did you find your time in the studio? Do you have any fun anecdotes or mishaps from your time there?
I don’t wanna rub our vegan/veggie fan base up the wrong way, but I actually ate a fly for £5, as a dare. We had been drinking a lot of Red Bull, and it got a bit wild for a moment. It’s not exactly the same as Ozzie biting the head off a bat, but we made the process fun and tried to keep the energy present, in the zone.
Did the record evolve much while you were recording it?
When you can stand back and listen to your songs in high fidelity for the first time while recording, suddenly you can imagine all these new ways they could be. It gives you creative space to think about other ways in which songs could grow or think about other flourishes that could show themselves. We were able to listen and think, rather than just playing while listening, and we have been able to craft the songs into a body of work we are super content with. Strongly referencing our live sound, on record these songs go to another level and that’s very much down to having a year to fine tune this baby.
What else have you got in the diary for 2018?
Us Wives are going down under! Very psyched to be playing Laneway Festival in Australia early next year. The line up is amazing. To give you a taster, it includes The Internet, Slowdive, Alex G and Wolf Alice. The festival tours around different cities in Australia from the 27th January to early February next year (just giving you the dates in case anyone is looking to book flights RIGHT NOW). It will be super cool to share that journey with such an amazing set of artists; very special festival.
Aside from your own, what album are you most looking forward to being released next year?
We are very excited about our buddies The Spook School releasing their album ‘Could It Be Different?’ on Alcopop! We were all out at SXSW together earlier this year, and they are such a sweet gang, can’t wait to hear their fresh tunes.
Taken from the December 2017 / January 2018 issue of Dork, out now. Order a copy here.