Album Review: From The Pyre by The Last Dinner Party

Before The Last Dinner Party had even found their stride, they were already weathering a mini backlash from the "indier-than-thou" brigade, critiqued for their class and gender, much of it carrying the unmistakable whiff of misogyny rather than for their songs. While the trolls busied themselves online, The Last Dinner Party focused on what actually matters: writing great songs, playing blistering shows, and steadily converting skeptics into believers. Their 2024 debut Prelude to Ecstasy did much of the heavy lifting, a lavish baroque-pop spectacle that proved the hype was more than justified.

Full Review >>

Rich in ideas and confidence, the follow-up to Prelude To Ecstasy takes the concept of ‘the difficult second album’, screws it up in a ball and throws it over its shoulder while laughing If there’s one thing you can be sure of with The Last Dinner Party, it’s that they’re not short of confidence. After releasing a debut album, Prelude To Ecstasy, that debuted at Number 1 and was nominated for the Mercury Prize, and playing a succession of gigs that successfully combined camp theatrics with magnetic stage presence, you wouldn’t be surprised to see the London five-piece put their feet up for a while. Not a bit of it.

Full Review >>

From the Pyre perhaps peddles slightly less in the meta than the band's 2024 debut, Prelude to Ecstasy, though slightly is an apt qualifier. While Prelude might feature thicker arrangements and traffic more in classic pathos, with Pyre, TLDP are as sublime and theatrical as ever. Love, heartbreak, deception, necromancy, passion that leads to fulfillment (transformation), and passion that leads to devastation (hubris): the epic themes are present.

Full Review >>

It's been one long year since The Last Dinner Party's game-changing debut album, 'Prelude to Ecstasy'. The world hasn't yet moved on from earworm 'Nothing Matters' and still can't get enough of Emily Roberts' Brian May/George Harrison hybrid style guitar solos, but even so, second LP 'From The Pyre' is a more than welcome arrival that quenches a collective thirst for more. Bold opener 'Agnus Dei' tells the album's first tale, as it swoops and melodically over Abigail Morris' suave vocals.

Full Review >>

Two minutes into The Last Dinner Party's heavily anticipated sophomore album, 'From The Pyre', their singular brilliance is confirmed all over again. A delectable feast of harmonised vocals, snappy orchestral hooks, and Emily Roberts' exquisite fretwork - with a dose of Sparks-ish eccentricity for good measure - the British five-piece squeeze so much into 'Agnus Dei' before even reaching a second chorus. It's an irresistible opener, but rest assured: fans of the group can breathe a huge sigh of relief.

Full Review >>