“The gatekeepers, the so-called legends / Ya boys gonna let the girls play? / Or are they merely ornaments on display?” so states “Leech”, the bold and explosive first single from Dream Wife's long-awaited third album Social Lubrication. It's a rock-heavy, call-to-arms for empathy, in a world still propped up by patriarchal systems and underhand codes of silence. “Empathy is what allows us to collaborate, to build things together and to make things that are larger than the individual,” says bassist Bella Podpadec today. “But there is also a lot about modern society that denies us access to that, and teaches us that it's bad or dangerous.” Dream Wife have always been adept at merging the political with the playful, and Social Lubrication is no different. Vital statements are hidden within hot and heavy dancefloor anthems about making out, having fun and staying curious. On silly, sexy stand-out “Hot”, the band wryly poke fun at musicians – including themselves. “Don't date a musician,” sings Rakel over infectious, B52's-style drums and jagged, angular melodies. “They'll think you're competition / I was never competition, I was just… hot.” Ultimately, much of the album is about lust: sexual lust, lust for life, lust for letting loose, lust in the face of having to be a nice, polite “good girl.” “A 'good girl' is not the same as a good person,” says Rakel. “That's something I've had to shed a lot.”
