Dream Wife : "Social Lubrication"

In looking for what punk albums I might have missed out on this year, I came across this band. It's not punk, though that is an influence. It feels like a more aggressive take on 90s alt-rock. Like it Elastica had more balls to their sound. This is the band's third album, and this one came out back in June. Their singer Rakel, who is of Icelandic descent, projects a great deal of attitude mixed with a Lolita-like sneer. Sometimes her lyrics are tongue in cheek, like on "Hot (Don't Date a Musician) " which is explosive. She talks her way through the verses. She name drops the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs. which is obviously one of their influences. 

The title track finds the formula established in the first three songs firmly in place, though with a slight disco touch to the drums. It still works for this song, but I am going to need more dynamics from them or I am going to get bored with this. They do this by cranking out a more grunge-like ambling. She sings more than speaks here. There is a more rock n roll feel to the drone of the riff. "Leech' does fall back onto the formula of the spoken verses with a more explosive chorus, that Rakel screams out. Her demands for empathy feel a little one-sided. 

The first real punk moment is not until "I Want You" which fires off with a charged chorus. 'Curious' feels more like a Pixies song, though lyrically its exploration of sexuality is more interesting than some of the raging against the patriarchy. "Honestly " is one of the dynamic shifts this album, has needed as it is more introspective and melodic. "Orbit" is another example of how well-produced this album is. The songwriting is equally slick and thankfully ends the album in a manner that deviates from the formula that dominates it. Even with some of the heavy-handed agenda in the lyrics, it is still a fun album, I will give it a 9, despite some of the songwriting tropes they default to, as the energy and attitude compensate for this.