Dream Wife’s singer Rakel Mjöll told the crowd that it had been a while since they had played a venue as “small and sweaty” as Hackney’s Paper Dress Vintage but the vibe was all the more punk rock for it.

The band were the British representation at an Anglo-Espana party which also featured Basque rockers Belako to launch the venue’s partnership with SON Estrella Galicia.

SON - the musical arm of the Estrella beer brand - has worked with venues around the world to put on live music events. And while both bands are used to playing in larger venues than the upstairs room in the Mare Street boutique, their sound certainly sparked the new venture off with a bang.

Dream Wife, who are quickly winning a reputation as one of the best live bands on the circuit, embraced the mood and delivered a freight train of a set - kicking off with crowd favourite Hey Heartbreaker and keeping the pace furious. The ever-captivating Mjöll toyed with audience members on So When You Gonna… before dividing the crowd into two for a mock competition on irony-laden Sports!

Hackney Gazette: The venue was a sell outThe venue was a sell out (Image: Alex Amoros)

The equally energetic Belako, friends and fans of Dream Wife, provided the perfect opening - delivering hard riffs, funky basslines, and messages of positivity and inclusion. There was room in the dozen or so tracks for a song in Basque language, and for frontwoman Cris Lizarraga to invite women to dance at the front and later invade the crowd.

Hackney Gazette: Belako performBelako perform (Image: Alex Amoros)

The launch night with SON also featured beer pouring workshops and the chance to try the Basque delicacy of spiced octopus with potatoes.

Paper Dress Vintage is well-known as a trendy boutique by day but is expanding its nightlife offering and is set to be hosting more sell-out gigs in weeks to come. If future events are anything like the launch night, there will be fun times ahead.