Modern Woman - "Johnny's Dreamworld"

English art punk rockers Modern Woman deliver a masterful debut rife with poetic lyrics and adventurous music on Johnny’s Dreamworld.

I got into punk as a teenager, distraught and bored with the prominent nü metal that so many of my peers were into. In punk I found more direct, pointed dissent and a rebellion that often seemed to be more pure than chain wallets or big budget music videos. Punk wasn’t weird for the sake of it, but because non-conformity was an essential part of the aesthetic and psychological revolution required to escape Reagan and Thatcher’s neoliberalism, the cookie cutter sprawl that the Clinton and Bush administrations held as some sort of ideal. Yeah, this was the 2000s, but earlier punk bands offered as much as, if not more than, contemporary punk music could in not only political and social rebellion, but in sonic antagonism against the world of rock and pop music. Over the years, I have seen dozens of punk bands rise up and forge their own paths and many more paying homage to their punk ancestors.

Today’s punk world is still vibrant, but perhaps the most significant scene in punk-adjacent music has been the post-punk revival in Great Britain. Acts like Idles, Squid, Sleaford Mods, Shame, and more have taken punk’s energy and weirdness into the world of streaming and festivals with broader appeal than more rigid traditionalists could ever hope to achieve. Notably, the Windmill scene, responsible for many critical darlings like Maruja, Black Country, New Road, and one of my favorites, English Teacher have fused elements of punk with indie rock, prog, jazz, and more. That scene delivers another hard-to-categorize act in Modern Woman, who distinctly recall a punk forebearer whom I have never seen an imitation or even close approximation of in Patti Smith, punk’s poet laureate.

Modern Woman‘s debut album, Johnny’s Dreamworld is distinctly of our times, and songwriter/singer Sophie Harris has a voice of her own, but in her poetic, raw, and literate writing as well as her dynamic vocals, she recalls Patti Smith‘s poetic and flamboyant delivery. The opening title track shambles forth in with marching drums, squalls of guitar, and a deep bass hook. Harris sing-talks her way through the verse before elegantly delivering the chorus as violins welcome in Modern Woman‘s penchant for folksy modern compositions. In ways, this is equally comparable to Kate Bush as it is to early black midi. The tone and lyrical themes double down on “Neptune Girl”, exploring a kind of raucous chamber rock that carries lyrics exploring womanly lust and confidence in the face of feminist independence.

These rock-forward tracks are energetic and thrilling, capitalizing on a wealth of influences that run the gamut from punk’s abrasive tones and a whole history of experimental music. There is no doubt that Modern Woman would put on an enthralling live show. “Killing A Dog” begins to tease the band’s excellence at balladry, betrayed by eruptive, bratty refrains that would fit into an early Yeah Yeah Yeahs album, complete with an explosive guitar crunch that counters aggressive violins and tender organs for a quiet-loud-quiet dynamic that slays. The ballads continue with “Daniel”, a haunting narrative of perhaps watching someone drown that is delivered with such powerful emotion that even if the indefinite lyrics mean otherwise, one could imagine a similar tragedy unfolding.

This begins the second half of the album that contains my favorite tracks. “Folk/Heart” narrating a drunken uncertainty as the narrator is shown guns and violence under the innocence of meeting a lover’s father culminating with the gorgeous refrain of, ‘what kind of bodies hidden in that place?/I can feel a heart in the home.’ Here we begin to see the Lynchian observances of darkness, seediness, and violence beneath the veneer of pleasant domestication. “Blessed Day” ramps things up with my favorite riff on the album, an arena rocker that narrates the social decline of a faithful family contrasting the steadfast swagger of the song with unspoken domestic horrors. “Dashboard Mary” follows and stands out as my favorite song on the album, painting a narrative of an ill-advised lovers’ tryst and the mixed, complicated feelings that follow. The track unfolds and builds in a way that is like watching a brilliant film at Cannes, neither a definite resolution to the story or hopefulness to be had, but a confidence in self after misdeeds that ends with an immaculate refrain of ‘I’m not coming home‘ that lingers in your head long after the album is over.

Modern Woman strike a sharp balance of contradictions across Johnny’s Dreamworld. There are all the pulls and detours of witnessing a fever dream, vivid yet nondescript images that range from heartbreaking to harrowing to celebratory and exhilarating. These contradictions are present in the lyrics as much as the music that waxes and wanes from fiery rockers to reflective art pop, and all delivered in around 30 minutes, Johnny’s Dreamworld shows more dynamism and exceptional songwriting than I have heard all year complete with literary allusions and a keen eye for detailing the complexities of life. This is a truly amazing record that rewards passionate fans of art across many spectrums, at times cinematic, at times kinetic, and always deftly poetic.