London-based Icelandic trio Dream Wife hit up The Pink Room at YES in Manchester, as part of their tour in support of independent venues week.
With it being a particularly freezing January, this was the first gig of the year for many people in the room (myself included), and Dream Wife were well worth coming out of hibernation for. As soon as they took to the stage, their energy spread and pulsated through the crowd.
Tonight’s setlist consisted largely of new, unreleased songs – hearing this new material, while packed into this tiny, hot room, it felt like we were being let in on a secret listening party. I am happy to report that the new songs are sounding amazing – was there ever any doubt though?
There were, of course, some familiar favourites thrown into the mix. Vocalist Rakel Mjöll invited all “bad bitches” to come to the front, before going into the anthemic ‘Somebody’, while ‘Let’s Make Out’ and ‘F.U.U.’ had everyone bouncing.
Support came from London artist Nuha Ruby Ra, who also used tonight as a chance to test out some new material. With her duel-wielding microphones, she spat out lyrics with an intensity that had the whole room under her spell.
Tonight was all about the joy that comes from these smaller, DIY gigs. It felt like a celebration of the UK music scene, as well as a bold proclamation to the future. Without independent venues like YES, moments like this – of feeling part of something despite being in a room of strangers – just won’t happen anymore.