Tonight sees Dream Wife return to Manchester in a lower key show as part of Independent Venue Week where they have been playing smaller independent venues across the country. Both acts treat the show as an opportunity to roadtest new material so we hear lots of new songs rather than the old favourites.
The backing track starts to signal the beginning of the evening's support. The sultry vocals come in but no-one is on stage. The door at the back of the stage which leads to the backstage area opens and Nuha Ruby Ra struts on to the stage, mic in hand, and carries on singing. The phrasing is a little unusual and she comes across as a more soulful Björk. She also similarly embraces leftfield dance vibes. It's very intriguing. Singing through two mics at once is a novelty. I'm not sure if it adds anything soundwise but it looks cool. She explains that she's playing entirely new material tonight and it's only the third time she's played these tracks live. The third track has a deep dubby feel whilst the fourth track has more of a soulful indie feel. The fifth track has some earth levelling bass and is in a H09909 vein. With it being a brand new song, she is reading the lyrics from a notebook but it is powerful nonetheless. One track sees Nuha get more animated and theatrical, with some scary vocal noises and possessed dancing creating voodoo magic. The final track sees more guitars added to the backing track and it gives off Nova Twins vibes. It's eclectic with every song sounding different but it is extremely interesting.
'Hey Heartbreaker' helps to set the tone for Dream Wife's set with its 'hey hey hey' refrain, and it is a fun opener. Their friend Julian is standing in on bass tonight as Bella has just had a baby, and he does an admirable job. New track 'Friends Like You' follows their template of punky indie rock and it has a promising chorus which is only limited by the crowd's lack of familiarity with it. 'I.D.H.T.E.' has a bouncy rhythm, spiky guitars and vocals which switch between coy and gobby. 'Hasta La Vista' is fun. Rakel Mjöll looks cool in her satin blouse and tartan corset, which is very Vivienne Westwood. Alice Go, on the other hand, looks fierce in her BMX protective gear. 'Belong Together' sounds like it could be a future fan favourite, just not yet. 'Nico' is dynamic with a sleazy bassline and femme chorus. Rakel sounds amazing on another new track, 'Neighbourhood'. It is probably the strongest I have heard her voice sound and this carries the driving, punchy chorus. Rakel asks for people to speak to them at the merch table afterwards and tell them which new songs they like and which ones they should put on the new album. She then proceeds to tell a funny story about how a guy in Leeds came to them afterwards and said that the song which goes 'I am not my body, I am somebody was really good and should definitely be on the record, by way of an introduction to fan favourite 'Somebody' (from the first album). The band tell the crowd to make room at the front for all the 'bad bitches' (the collective name for their fans) and they go wild for an incredible 'Somebody', with everyone singing along to the memorable chorus. 'Mermaids' has a decent enough bassline but it seems like it is likely to be a grower. The empowering and angry 'Leech' is another favourite of the 'bad bitches' with its 'have some fucking empathy' refrain, and the chorus gets incredibly heavy at the climax. 'Oh Oh Yeah Yeah' is all buoyant punk energy. The grungy punk of 'F.U.U.' is another crowd favourite, especially the 'I spy with my little eye, bad, bad, bad, bad bitches' part. 'Let's Make Out' is joyous and unhinged and is a great way to close the show. Playing so many new unreleased songs (I counted nine in a fifteen song set) was a risk but they got away with it and the new album could be rather good.
Dream Wife ****
Nuha Ruby Ra ****
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