It may have taken a long time for Dream Wife to return to our city, but what a way to make up for lost time It’s the sort of unique experience that you can only get from live performances, something that was so sorely missed for so long. As the group perform the high-tempo Sports! late on in the set, they divide their fans in two and have each side cheer for either guitarist Alice Go or bassist Bella Podpadec as they go head-to-head in a jam session, with Mjöll commentating enthusiastically from the corner of the stage. Their frustration at being away from crowds for so long is firmly channelled into their show, with lead vocalist Rakel Mjöll taking every opportunity to involve the audience in the madness of the night. In many ways, Dream Wife are a throwback to the post-punk days of Siouxsie and the Banshees, but with a fresh identity that feels innovative and singular.
Release.įrom the moment the eclectic gang walk out on stage, they display a clear sense of excitement at being back in front of a live audience, performing real music for real people. Now, almost two years later, they are finally on the release tour for the record - and throughout this frenetic gig at the intimate Rescue Rooms, there is a real feeling of exactly that.
Music rescue review full#
It knows when to pull back and when to wallop you over the head.Īnd that’s what makes Rescue a Legendary Song.Back in July 2020, when the sun was blaring and beer gardens were packed, Dream Wife followed up their extraordinary self-titled debut album with So When You Gonna…, an even more unique, polished effort full of their trademark rebellious energy. It zigs and zags this way and that, but never cuts against its core energy or theme. By the end of the song, Rescue has taken you on a full journey, teasing out the strengths of its relatively simple melody in all the ways it can. When the full weight of the production slams in again, the impact is even greater because of the empty space preceding it. Then, in a brilliant use of dynamics, the instrumental fades to little more than waves of synth majesty as the members’ vocals carry us into Rescue’s climactic chorus. Here, it accentuates the already sticky rhythm, offering yet more to chew on as this bridge/dance break continues to elongate. Even as a big fan, KAT-TUN’s beatbox breaks can sometimes feel shoehorned in - like a parlor trick. But rather than culminate in the song’s final chorus, the track drops into another sinister groove, spotlighted by member Nakamura’s trademark beat box. Like Rescue’s introduction, the vocal arrangement cascades with a looping effect that adds incredible tension to the already bounding instrumental. From here, we arrive at one of modern pop’s most underutilized segments – the bridge. A growling rap verse brings us to an extended dance break (over a minute long in the music video, far less in the actual song), where swirling synths intensify and the beat chugs with unbreakable energy. Rescue bops along quite nicely for three minutes, and at the point where many pop songs would wind down to a conclusion, the track morphs further. Those softer moments only serve to add greater impact to the megawatt chorus. Even when Rescue retreats to softer moments, you never lose the overall plot. Like so many of my favorite songs, there’s a sense of constant acceleration. The verse is tight and compelling, wasting no moment with unnecessary diversions. Though high-toned and reedy, these two voices are able to convey such pathos and drama throughout the entire track, modulating slightly with each chorus to achieve different effects.įrom here, Rescue pulls back – but only slightly. This opens with the vocals of Kamenashi and Akanishi, layered in an echoed siren call directly preceding a monster beat drop. And, if a track is confident enough to unveil it right from the start, that’s usually a promising sign.Īfter a wonderfully ridiculous spoken word intro, Rescue bounds forward with a tease of its mighty refrain. Though its emphasis has dulled lately, the chorus is a vital part of any decent pop song. I believe that many of the best pop tracks share one thing in common: they kick off with their chorus. And with songs like this, Don’t U Ever Stop and Real Face, it’s easy to see why. Their first few years together were met with mammoth success, and remembered fondly by a fiercely loyal fan base. The group has since been halved, but are still churning out the tunes. Standing alongside a few legendary songs in their catalog is 2009’s Rescue - an utterly perfect dance anthem.Īt the time of its release, KAT-TUN were still at their full, six-member configuration. At their best, they’ve delivered some of the most essential pop tracks of the last fourteen years. Even since, I’ve been revisiting KAT-TUN’s (consistently fantastic) discography and remembering just how much I adore their music. I watched J-drama Nobuta wo Produce for the first time last month and fell head over heels in love with it.
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