The Last Dinner Party - Prelude To Ecstasy
Written By Laura Mills (1/3/24)
The Last Dinner Party which appear to be 2024’s biggest rock band so far released their debut album last month and the reaction from UK’s music industry has been unprecedented.
“We imagined the kind of joyful act we’d want to see when we go out, and created our own ‘dream band’ from that” vocalist Abigail Morris told NME last year, and the band have done just that.
Similarly, to the swift arrival of Wet Leg, TLDP have hastily broken through with online discourse, especially on TikTok, discussing the bands unique style, distinctive appearance and idiosyncratic sound.
It is important to remember that we are only less than a year on since the band released their biggest hit single so far ‘Nothing Matters’ which went viral online, especially earlier this year, and is arguably the rocket which launched The Last Dinner Party’s current fame and success.
This single also features on their debut record, a rock song with gritty, powerful lyrics “And you can hold me like he held her / And I will fuck you like nothing matters” presenting their evident glam rock influences from artists like the late, great David Bowie.
Prelude to Ecstasy kicks off with the title track, a song which is heightened with drama and intensity, with elements of the classical genre and the influence of Kate Bush soaring through while showcasing how much this band have to offer.
These elements of drama continue into the next track ‘Burn Alive’ surfacing with a bellowing beat of a drum that continues throughout the track. This works perfectly contrasting with Morris’s sweet vocals while displaying a melodic assurance and ability.
Even into track three ‘Caesar on a TV Screen’ we feel this bands historic influences, presented mostly through their style of appearance but with a sleek touch of groove and swagger through their experimental riffs and pristine layering.
Like previous bands who have celebrated so early in their careers, The Last Dinner Party have been branded by some critiques as ‘Industry Puppets’. Whether this is your take or not, one cannot deny that their music is something to be considered fresh, rare and eccentric in a sea of the same old regurgitated, mainstream and auto-tuned hits generally found in today’s music.