No group can assemble a raging, sweaty masterpiece quite like Dream Wife.
“Let’s Make Out”, our first taste of the London trio? A certified table-flipper. “Sports!”, their elastic 2020 single? Rocket fuel for days. But as the band resurfaces with a new single called “Leech” (released earlier this week), they offer two distinct listening experiences. Half of folks tuning in are sure to seethe — and the other half will sweat bullets.
“Do you use and abuse your power to the young women that listen to what you say?” lead singer Rakel Mjöll grills on the second verse. “So you call me a friend? Someone to hide behind? Do you hide behind those so-called friends?” Sorry, are you looking pale right now?
“Leech” morphs self-reflection into an unflinching interrogation, culminating in a spoken-word slap across the face to the patriarchy and the people who are content to uphold it.
“‘It’s an anthem for empathy. For solidarity,” the band explains. “The push and pull of the song lyrically and musically expands and contracts, stating and calling out the double standards of power. Nobody really wins in a patriarchal society. We all lose. We could all use more empathy. As our first song to be released in a while, we wanted to write something that feels like letting an animal out of a cage. It’s out. And it’s out for blood…”
“Just have some fucking empathy,” Mjöll commands throughout the song, a terse version of allyship 101. And if you answered “yes” to any of the questions above — or the many in “Leech” that we can’t fit here — we hope her message haunts your damn dreams.
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