Dream Wife

With their brashly catchy mix of punk and pop and proudly feminist viewpoint, Dream Wife continue the empowering lineage of the Slits, Debbie Harry, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Le Tigre. Thanks to their clever songwriting and abundant hooks -- and Rakel Mjöll's ability to shift from a coo to a howl in an instant -- give the queer and non-binary band's manifestos about gender roles, body image, and identity an engaging and often playful energy. Early releases like 2018's Dream Wife emphasized their punk firepower, but their 2020 U.K. Top 20 hit So When You Gonna… included tender slow songs and rarely mentioned topics such as miscarriages, while 2023's Social Lubrication deftly navigated righteous anger and playful sensuality. Though their music evolved, Dream Wife's commitment to women and non-binary people stayed strong as they supported charities such as Girls Rock London and worked with all-female creative teams.