March 8, 2024 / By: Josh Kitchen
The Last Dinner Party's brilliant debut album, Prelude to Ecstasy begins with an Aaron Coplandesque grandiose orchestral introduction to announce they have arrived. You might be asking yourself, who? If so, you probably live a normal life free of existential worry and digital strife. But if you enjoy wading in the acid waters of the TikTok-o-pshere and enjoy songs by musicians, chances are you have heard The Last Dinner Party's naughty debut single "Nothing Matters" sometime between now and last Thanksgiving.
The Last Dinner Party hail from London, formed in 2021 at University, and have truly blown up. Many corners of the dark web (by the dark web I mean the entire internet), seem convinced the band are industry plants, with the band even acknowledging the accusations and happily accepting the support one way or the other. And they're right to do so - the music is fantastic. On (5th!) single, "Caesar on a TV Screen," lead singer Abigail Morris pronounces, "I could be one of the greats/I'll be Caesar on a TV screen/champion of my fate/No one can tell me to stop/I'll have everything I want."
It's this braggadocio that makes for savvy and smart music. Emily Roberts' guitar licks are crunchy and glammy when they need to be, and Morris' vocals are equal part Kate Bush, ABBA, and Ellie Rowsell. "Sinner" will have you dancing and "Beautiful Boy" will have you crying. There are a lot of surprises here, and no song is truly the same song at the end as it began. "My Lady of Mercy" begins as something out of Sweeney Todd and ends as a Black Sabbath sludgefest. And I defy you to get "Nothing Matters" unstuck from your head. On top of all of this, the band look like they just fell out of a Bronte novel.
The Last Dinner Party have arrived. On Prelude to Ecstasy, they dare you to deny it.
Catch The Last Dinner Party at Coachella and San Diego in April!
Standout tracks: My Lady of Mercy, The Feminine Urge, Sinner, Portrait of a Dead Girl.
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