‘Dream Wife’ review: Punk trio’s career-making triumph

Dream Wife’s name is commentary about society’s objectification of women, OK? And the British, all-female punk trio’s “Dream Wife” (Lucky Number) is a raucous, powerful protest about gender roles and inequality.

The album opens with Rakel Mjöll wailing, “Let’s make out! Let’s maaaaaake outttt!” You can almost hear her patience waning as guitarist Alice Go rolls out roaring riffs and bassist Bella Podpadec keeps a groovy beat.

But Dream Wife only gets more wondrous from there. There’s an element of ’50s innocence in the hand claps and cooing backing vocals that begin “Hey Heartbreaker,” then Mjöll starts taunting the object of her initial affection.

That’s not to say that Dream Wife doesn’t have its moments of sweetness. The gorgeous “Love Without Reason” feels like a pretty chant that crosses the Sugarcubes with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The lovely “Kids” bubbles with the joys of young love and scratchy guitar riffs, as Mjöll fondly recalls memories of upstate New York. “Dream Wife” is a career-making triumph, as bold as Mjöll’s exertion of unflinching control throughout her lyrics, and the first undeniable breakout performance of 2018.