On the 2nd of February ‘The Last Dinner Party’ graced fans with their debut album ‘Prelude to Ecstasy’. With many (including myself) already enticed by their debut singles ‘Nothing Matters’ and my personal favourite – ‘Sinner’- the album was highly anticipated. The British indie rock band consists of Abigail Morris, Lizzie Mayland, Emily Roberts, Georgia Davies, and Aurora Nishevci. The band began with three members – Morris, Mayland and Davies – who met during their time at university in London. Later on, Roberts and Nishevci also joined the group. However, rehearsals and gigs were postponed by the Covid-19 pandemic, meaning they didn’t perform their first gig until November 2021. I found out about the band quite recently by seeing videos of them on TikTok opening for Hozier on his UK tour late last year, however, their debut single ‘Nothing Matters’ was released on the 19th of April 2023, with ‘Sinner’ following in late June. Their grandiose performance outfits and captivating stage presence caught the attention of many scrollers, and their music rapidly grew in popularity by the end of 2023. Their energetic performances have been characterised by their ‘folk-horror’ aesthetic and renaissance-style fashion, with flowing gowns and statement sleeves. The band has recently been named one of BBC Radio One’s ‘Sounds of 2024’, which massively boosted their recognition alongside fellow artists such as Olivia Dean and CMAT. Moreover, they have recently announced their 2024 headline USA and UK/Ireland tour – and with that I think it’s safe to say 2024 is looking like an exciting year for the band.
Whilst I am no expert whatsoever in discussing the success of an album’s production and structure, in my opinion, this one should be admired – especially as a debut album. If you are a fan of ‘Florence and the Machine’, Kate Bush, or even ‘Queen’, all of which have been mentioned as fitting inspiration for the band, then I highly recommend this album. On their website, the band have described their new album as a ‘pendulum which swings between the extremes of human emotion, from the ecstasy of passion to the sublimity of pain, and it is this concept which binds our album together’, a summary which I feel perfectly encapsulates the variety of levels this album reaches. Fittingly for this description, the album begins with an orchestral overture, which feels slightly like the opening to an intense musical, preparing you for an array of emotions this album takes you through. This then swiftly turns to the anthem ‘Burn Alive’ with a very strong beat where we get the first experience of lead singer Abigail Morris’s powerful vocals in an enthralling exploration of the experience of grief.
Frustration surrounding female gender expectations and stereotypes is a significant theme throughout the album. ‘The Feminine Urge’ – a song that especially stuck out to me – explores the impossibilities of fulfilling expectations as a woman and the shared female struggle of mothers and daughters. Morris summarised that ‘It’s about the relationship between mothers and daughters and how those go back over generations, and the shared traumas that come down.’ This is especially apparent in the lines of the second pre-verse: ‘I could never give the curse to her/ I could never live with the guilt of lying/ That people are kind’ – where the speaker seems to be talking about her daughter and a shared trauma that she will inevitably have to experience when she grows up. This song is extremely lyrically moving and powerful, alongside a strong but steady beat. At times we can hear collective exclamations of lyrics that really represent feelings of female rage, which is especially powerful as the song draws to a close, leaving a strong impact on listeners. Following this song is perhaps the most heart-wrenching song on the album: ‘On Your Side’ – a beautifully melodic exploration of the heartbreak involved in toxic relationships and unmatched love. ‘Beautiful Boy’ then channels feelings of jealousy and awe of stereotypically attractive men due to their preferable treatment in society – clear in the powerful line ‘I wish I could be a Beautiful Boy’.
The group’s outstanding vocals are demonstrated once again in ‘Gjuha’ which means ‘Tongue’ in Albanian. The vocal line was written by Aurora Nishevci, the band’s keyboardist, however, the band engage together in a beautiful, operatic-sounding piece, which paired with ‘On Your Side’ and ‘Beautiful Boy’ creates a strongly harmonious and lyrical tone around the middle of the album. However, this is soon and quite abruptly ended by ‘Sinner’, which follows with a fast-paced beat and a chorus accompanied by chants via backing vocals, which adds to the overall energy and tone of the song. We also get to hear more of guitarist Lizzie Mayland’s vocals on this song alongside Abigail Morris’s. Writer of the song, Mayland, describes in an interview with The Line of Best Fit music magazine: “The story is about my relationship with London and where I grew up, which is a very, very rural small town. It has prejudices and is a bit small-minded socially. ‘Sinner’ is about converting to a place where you feel freer to be yourself and express your sexuality, but also long for that place that you were so at home in. I had a nice childhood and it’s something I miss, but those two things don’t feel like they can coexist. It’s kind of a made-up story about if I met someone who could represent both those things and like me as an entire person rather than one or the other.” The song is a gripping and high-powered exploration of desire and a longing for comfort along with acceptance.
The end of the album is dominated by more upbeat anthems such as ‘Sinner’, ‘My Lady of Mercy’ and ‘Nothing Matters’, which were all released and loved by fans prior to the formal release of the album. ‘Nothing Matters’ was written by lead singer Abigail Morris, and was originally a slower love song, but was transformed into an upbeat, powerful, and viral hit once it was brought into the hands of the whole band.
Although I have not mentioned or gone into lots of detail about every song on the album, even from the ones I have discussed I think that this album is clearly rich with enthralling themes, lyrics, and outstanding production. The band seems to have started their journey with a clear vision of what they wanted to create along with the aesthetic that they wanted to embody, and their achievements are beyond admirable. I highly recommend listening to the full album if you have got to the end of this article.
Written By: Molly Stevens
Edited By: Sonja Stojiljković