A riot grrl album from punk witches who are both joyous and furious
Released in August, Dream Nails’ self-titled album is what the popular idea of punk should become. At only 25 minutes in length it effortlessly blends a high-energy pop-punk sound with politically focused messages. It is an album that is a joy to listen to and would be a great place to start for someone looking to get into feminist punk, riot grrrl, or the punk scene in general; due to its focused nature it never feels incredibly dense or heavy.
Dream Nails, a London-based band, was founded in 2015 by feminist activists. This all-female four-piece has gained some success in the U.K. and Scandinavia. This album is their second full-length release after 2019’s Take Up Space! Proclaiming themselves to be “punk witches,” their music is fiercely feminine, owing to their riot grrrl influences.
Riot grrrl, a punk movement beginning in the early 1990s, was a female-fronted endeavour. Dissatisfied with the way women saw themselves being treated by the punk scene, it started primarily with “zines,” a type of DIY magazine that had been an integral part of punk culture dating back to its origins in the 1970s. Two of these most influential zines were Bikini Kill and Girl Germs. If the name Bikini Kill sounds familiar, it’s because the band’s founders, Tobi Vail and Kathleen Hanna, created the zine and named their band after it. Girl Germs’ creators Allison Wolfe and Molly Neuman also started a band with Erin Smith called Bratmobile. The idea behind the switch of medium from zines to music came as a way to reach a wider audience within the punk scene.
Dream Nails places itself firmly in this movement, along with some sonic influences from pop-punk. It is loud and fun on tracks like “Jillian” and “Swimming Pool” but maintains a sharp, political focus on others. The album also features a number of “skits” (short segments of talking) ranging from “Affirmations,” which is a declaration of courage in the face of fear, to a news report covering a homophobic attack in “In Other News.” The political messaging is particularly potent in “Payback” and “Kiss My Fist,” a response to “In Other News.” “Kiss My Fist” is the album closer and may be its most resonant song, dealing with the rage queer people can feel when they are at once fetishised and also hated by society.
Other standouts on the album include the high-energy “People Are Like Cities” where the band proclaims the titular simile with the explanation “They can never be completely known,” which feels correct even after you’ve known someone for years or lived in the same city half your life. The skit “Do You Want To Go To Work?” into the song “Corporate Realness” is Dream Nails proclaiming that they don’t want to go to work, but they will anyway — offering the repeated idea that you are not your job and work is not your life. It’s a vital reminder in a world that seems increasingly interested in dehumanizing people.
The overarching theme of the album is the dual feelings of joy and rage being different can bring you. It includes joy for yourself, your identity, and the extended community you have, whether that be through the punk scene or the wider LGBTQ+ community. Dream Nails rages against people who will see you as a commodity, whether it’s vocal homophobes or the uncaring capitalist system declaring your only value is what you do for a job.
Overall, Dream Nails is a timely album. It feels very much like — though it may have come to exist under other circumstances — now is the time that it will find the most resonance. More than anything, the album instills an odd sense of hope, which is all we can really ask for in these uncertain times.
