Firing on all cylinders, Dream Wife headline London's The Dome

<em><strong><a href="http://www.slb.photography/index">Photos: Sarah Louise Bennett</a></strong></em> King Nun are one wrong note away from descending into chaos. But, for the uninitiated, never fear. This is part of the plan. The wrong note never comes. The band take each song to the absolute brink, but manage to pull back at the last possible moment. On record their debut single ‘Tulip’ is sharp and frantic, a burst of youthful energy that tonight turns into a punk-rock rampage. King Nun do a great line in rapid, rabid riffs and howling vocals, but in their set there are also flickers of more laid-back influences, seen clearest when they lock into a surf-rock groove during new track ‘Sponge’. Their as-yet-unreleased songs land well but naturally, it’s the tracks the crowd knows that will get the best response, and King Nun know this. They build the grunge strop of ‘Hung Around’ into a full on tantrum, frantic and frustrated. The song revels in its own itchy restlessness as the band throw themselves about the stage, long hair and headstocks swinging violently. ‘Speakerface’, too, gets the full live treatment, with that constant punch-you-in-the-face bass riff thudding through the speakers. When they traipse offstage, King Nun have well and truly blown the cobwebs away for Dream Wife. Dream Wife have come a long way in a short time. In June last year they opened Goldenvoice’s ‘Pop Up in the Park’ downstairs at Boston Music Room, playing to a small but enthusiastic late afternoon crowd. Now here they are in the “big room” with a near sell-out audience. But if the trip has given them whiplash, they don’t let it show. Dream wife are pros. They launch into ‘Hey Heartbreaker’ with confident grins, the energy of the kick-off carrying them and their audience through the post-punk of ‘Lolita’ and new track ‘Take It Back’. In the crowded, close atmosphere of the Dome the nostalgic summer pop of early single ‘Kids’ feels particularly relevant. Despite the recent chill the weather will be turning soon, and ‘Kids’ tends to bring the sunshine to mind. It’s followed up by recent single ‘Somebody’, which has quickly cemented itself as a crowd favourite. The chorus line “I am not my body, I am somebody” is purpose built for the crowd to chant along with singer Rakel Mjoll. So they do. While their set tonight has rarely missed the mark, it’s towards the end of the set where Dream Wife really fire on all cylinders.‘FUU’ kicks off an art-punk apocalypse with a stampeding drum beat, while Rakell’s vocal is cheerfully murderous, each lyric delivered with a smile that manages to confirm the threat rather than undermine it.