Review Summary: Filing divorce as you read...
Marriage comes with some perks, not gonna lie, but also with some often-overlooked clauses that can turn the tables in a potential legal fallout in the future. In the heat of love, that small letter is not visible to the untrained eye, but to me, a veteran warrior of countless musical romances that ended in an emotional fiasco, I was prepared for this.
When I discovered Dream Wife back in 2018 through their debut, it was liberating, but I knew where I was getting into.
Dream Wife was a wild night out of drugs, drinks, and karaoke that culminated with passion under the sheets. It was a rollercoaster of emotions where my hesitation to let go was shredded by the album's reckless nature. It was a thrill, a fistful of punk and garage right into the gut keeping you awake while Rakel and co. butt-slapped my coy disposition with riot grrrl inspired hymns of sharp guitars and an all-around riled up, cheeky attitude.
Fast forward, only two years later, what the hell happened?!
So when you gonna... is not the logical continuation of the trio's explosive debut. Far from that, Dream Wife's second full length shows a disconcerting tamed side of the band that is the last thing I would expect from the same girls that wrote such a hot set of jams like "Fire" or "Act my age". Gone is the raw and dirty production, exchanged here by a sterile, clear and polished sound that, don't get me wrong, it sounds great, but at the same time it takes away the irresistible charm of the band's first record. Along with the change of values, and with a few exceptions like the title track, Dream Wife's new material has gone from being a wildfire out of control to a wet match that barely lights the room. I mean, the album ends with a ballad.
There's salvage to be done though. If one approaches
So when you gonna... with a mindset that keeps their debut out of the equation and treats it like a brand new output from a different, less exciting indie rock outfit, some tracks are actually enjoyable. "Sports!" is a fun opener, without boasting a deep lyrical content, it's good enough for some modest toe tapping. "Hasta La Vista" is downright embarrassing, while "Homesick" stains a pretty good chorus with pretty terrible vocals. "Validation" tries on some post punk but ends up dropping the "punk" part and indulges in some very forgettable melodies. "Temporary" is slightly better, again, a very different version of the band, with a vocal delivery by Rakel Mjöll that strays from her usual unhinged shouting and mutates into a sweeter, more collected version of herself. From the second half, only "Old Flame", with its light 80s pop influence and the title track, which is the closest they get to peak at the same level of energy that in their first album, are worth mentioning. As stated before, the album ends with the ballad "After the Rain", sinking it into oblivion in the worst possible way.
Two years is not a long time for such an intense decay in energy for such a young band. Artistic evolution is a thing, we all get it, and I'm sure this album will find a new husband elsewhere, but I am not willing to share the rest of my life with this poorly aged version of my once wonderfully unpredictable dream wife, so pack your bags, because we are done here. Divorce it is.
