Album Review: The Last Dinner Party - 'From The Pyre'
The Last Dinner Party Deliver Another Theatrical Rock Opus With From The Pyre.
Every fan has moments of nervousness waiting for an artist’s sophomore album, desperately hoping that it maintains the standard of their debut at the very least. Some artists never manage to surpass the freshness that comes out of their first project…
The Last Dinner Party is not one of those acts. From The Pyre is a clear maturation that only builds on the grandiose foundations they laid down with Prelude To Ecstasy. The theatrics explore bolder imagery and clearer storytelling against a deeper, more powerful rock sound.
From the off, the album greets you with a cover clearly inspired by Hieronymus Bosch’s, The Garden Of Earthly Delights, which sets the basis for the band's art rock style.
Agnus Dei or ‘Lamb of God’ for those Latin speakers among you, is the bassy, silky smooth opener that evokes feelings of classic piano rock acts like Queen or even more recent baroque rock bands such as The Last Shadow Puppets with whom the band have previously shared a producer, James Ford.
It’s a wonderfully large, cathartic song which builds to choral magnitudes; a technique the band seem to flex more frequently on this project is their use of choral singing and harmonies which elevates every song to gospellic heights. The size of this song lends itself pleasurably to the apocalyptic imagery Abigail Morris sings on and is a good reflection of their no holds barred approach to From The Pyre.
The band leaves no breathing room between track one and two as Count The Ways sets off with a stanky riff that will have listeners screwing their faces up in approval. The dark, angsty riff is the backdrop to the yearning lyrics that cry out in pain against the story of someone struggling to move on from an ex-lover. The Last Dinner Party has certainly taken an entirely darker turn with this album and it perfectly suits their romantic maximalist aesthetic; if Tess of the d’Urbervilles wrote a song, I’m sure this is what it would sound like.
Second Best is the third and final single release, and it’s a multi-layered powerhouse of a song. It eases you in with gentle singing and a flowery piano before the punky, highly-strung, stomping chorus kicks in. The drums closely follow Morris’ vocal patterns, rounding off the whole rhythm of the piece neatly. Its rises and falls make for an extremely satisfying listen that throws you around both physically and emotionally.
Up next is the first single from the album, which came with an awesomely camp music video featuring Morris as a centaur. This Is The Killer Speaking is a sultry, deep cat-and-mouse track that could easily soundtrack a cowboy chase scene, a feeling carried by the wiry guitars. The undeniably catchy chorus breathes a pop sensibility into an otherwise rigid indie song. The dramatic, musical-esque ending is also a pleasantly light-hearted mid-point to what is a relatively moody album.
Rifle is one of the strongest new tracks that is showered in bloody imagery and heart-poundingly strong riffs. It is beautifully paced with a headbanging chorus that uses pauses like an extra instrument. The lyrics depict violence and terror artfully conjuring thoughts of bloodied hands and a living dead.
As we move into the latter half, the project becomes filled with meditative pieces on womanhood. A Woman Is A Tree and I Hold Your Anger explore the divine relationship between nature and femininity, reflecting the female energy that courses through the veins of Mother Earth herself, as well as through every woman whilst also confronting the generational pain and love that flows down from women of the ages. Aurora Nishevci, the band’s pianist/keyboardist, leads the vocal for I Hold Your Anger bringing a welcome earthy counterpart to Morris’ ethereal rock voice.
Sail Away deals with similar ideologies but through the contemporary lens of a modern relationship. The outro of this track is a well built up crescendo which combines all the band’s voices into a hymn-like ascension which could bring a tear to any listener's eye.
The penultimate track uplifts the pace and thematically sums up the whole project with ideas of love, death and reincarnation:
Don't cry, lie here forever
Let life run its course
I'll be here in the next one
Next time, you know I'll call
Coming just at the right time before the audience is suitably mellow, The Scythe arrives to breathe a new balls-to-the-wall energy into your bones assuring you that life and all its ups and downs are a part of something bigger. The level of philosophy explored throughout The Last Dinner Party albums is enough to fill a library. Musically the song draws on more stringed instruments than the album as a whole which gives the song a strongly cinematic feeling.
Finally rounding off the album is the jaunty yet empowering, Inferno which feels like a strongly bittersweet closer. While upbeat and led by a perfectly jovial piano, the lyrics remain poetic and thoughtfully sincere and what better image could end an epic album more than a scorching blaze of fire.
From The Pyre, is a ruminative and exciting step up from Prelude To Ecstasy, and the achievement it represents cannot be understated. It feels more meaningful, and to every fan it’s clear to see the natural progression and growth The Last Dinner Party have made as a band, exploring their unique and inspiring aesthetic through sharper imagery and tighter yet bolder musical arrangements.
Words by Adam Mir
