The Last Dinner Party ‘From The Pyre’ Album Review by Rob Johnson
The Last Dinner Party burst on the scene seemingly from nowhere with the release of their incredible debut single ‘Nothing Matters’ in April 2023, and, as with Wet Leg before them, they were derided in some quarters for having the temerity to be women with a singular attitude and the tunes to back it up. After a string of successful live dates, the band returns with this sophomore effort, From the Pyre.
Consisting of Abigail Morris (vocals), Lizzie Mayland (vocals, guitar), Emily Roberts (lead guitar, mandolin, flute), Georgia Davies (bass) and Aurora Nishevci (keyboards, vocals), the band sounds as self-assured as ever on From the Pyre, with opening track ‘Agnus Dei’ a suitably epic album opener. Morris’ dramatic, Kate Bush-esque delivery adds an element of the stage to every song, as does the lofty themes of the lyrics, taking in everything from ‘rifles, scythes, sailors, saints, cowboys, floods, Mother Earth, Joan of Arc, and blazing infernos’ to ‘violence and destruction but also regeneration, passion and light’ (as the press release breathlessly informed us).
‘Count the Ways’ takes the riff from Arctic Monkey’s ‘R U Mine?’ and makes it slinkier, darker, before melting into some beautiful harmonies across the chorus. New single ‘Second Best’ is classic ‘70s rock (Fleetwood Mac being the most obvious touchstone) as applied through a modern filter and with a soupcon of ‘90s alternative rock, all underpinned by a driving bass line. It’s irresistible.
‘This is the Killer Speaking’, the album’s lead single, is also one of the best songs the band has ever written. Smart, menacing and sultry, there is a timelessness and a confidence here that illustrates how much the band have matured and grown into themselves since their debut record. ‘Rifle’ features gorgeous slide guitar leading into a quietLOUDquiet chorus before a final verse in French that confirms that this is a band that leans into their pretentiousness and poshness. And why not? Working-class voices are almost unheard of in the indie rock sphere, and while this is a disaster, there is no point pretending to be something you’re not.
‘Woman is a Tree’ channels the visceral, vocal score heard on Showtime’s much beloved teen drama, ‘Yellowjackets’, with the band howling together like a wolfpack during the song’s intro. And this is one of The Last Dinner Party’s main appeals – they feel like a band. A gang.
The album closes out with ‘Inferno’, a three-minute pure pop song with a hymn-like chorus that speaks to the universal theme inherent throughout the album. This is big, dramatic music from a hugely talented band that has the potential to take over the world. Coming to an arena near you…
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