Atwood Magazine’s writers dive into The Last Dinner Party’s dramatic sophomore album ‘From the Pyre,’ a grand and theatrical follow-up to ‘Prelude to Ecstasy’ – unpacking its flair for glam-rock spectacle, its witchy mysticism, and the band’s triumphant transformation into a full-scale art-rock phenomenon.

Featured here are Atwood writers Andrew Lamson, Dimitra Gurduiala, and Marc Maleri!

— —

To start, what is your relationship with The Last Dinner Party’s music?

Andrew: The Last Dinner Party caught my ears a few years ago when a dear friend across the pond sent me the recommendation after a live show. Ever since, I’ve been following their steady drip of singles. Prelude to Ecstasy was one of my favorite albums of 2024, and I’ve continually found their music as my playlist to a Sunday morning or Thursday night-in.

Marc: The Last Dinner Party’s debut album crept into my streaming algorithm once “Nothing Matters” started to blow up on TikTok. I really enjoyed that single and was pleasantly surprised to find an album with incredibly creative lyricism, storytelling, and mystical production. Tracks like “Feminine Urge” and “My Lady of Mercy” were some of my most listened to pieces of music from 2024, even despite their entry into the industry with a year that was jam packed with amazing records.

Dimitra: I had a friend who started introducing me to the band by constantly sending me videos of their performances, especially when they were opening for Hozier’s concerts. I find them endlessly fascinating, from their baroque aesthetic to their sound, and seeing them live made me appreciate them even more (especially when Abigail made a joke referring to The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Great taste). All of their songs make me feel deeply every tiny little feeling, and I love that.

What are your initial impressions and reactions to From the Pyre?

Andrew: I’m mostly impressed. My life is spent listening and indulging music, and it’s somewhat rare to hear a band go all-in on glam. “It sounds like Bowie” or “This is the best Queen song in 50 years” ran through my mind more than once. Songs are layered so effortlessly. Each tune has so many minute details that aren’t noticed until repeated listens. It shows growth as a band, and catches them in a state that hopefully launches The Last Dinner Party name into the popular zeitgeist instead of indie darlings. Albums like this would be heralded as classics if released 30-40 years ago, and I hope people put that label on this ASAP.

Marc: It’s more of the same, but that’s not at all a bad thing! With From the Pyre released so quickly after Prelude to Ecstasy, these two feel like sisters. From the Pyre acts as a sibling that still sounds and looks familiar to its predecessor all while building upon what made that first record successful in the first place. With production choices that make the tracks feel even more witchy and other-wordly alongside the complexities with which the band is able to tackle some of the themes, The Last Dinner Party has cemented their space within the genre they operate from.

Dimitra: I was honestly very afraid that the album would not live up to my expectations, since I really liked Prelude to Ecstasy. When “The Scythe” came out, though, I instantly changed my mind. I knew I would love it – and I did. From the Pyre is intense, dramatic, the band is more confident and triumphant than ever. I can’t wait to hear this album live.

How does this album compare to 2023’s Prelude to Ecstasy – what are the most striking similarities or differences?

Andrew: There’s so many more fleshed out ideas on From the Pyre. It’s truly hard to believe, as Prelude to Ecstasy is also very dense. Yet somehow the 2024 release now sounds like a proof-of-concept and From the Pyre is a realisation of talent. Song structures are recommendations and twist & turn when you least expect it. From the Pyre is extremely dramatic. They’re no longer playing at a local theater, they’re embracing the massive Broadway stage. It’s wild to hear how royal they sound now, and to see a group truly embrace creative & entrancing song styles. I originally thought Prelude to Ecstasy was a fluke and there was no way they could do it again, and I’m so overjoyed to know TLDP is the real deal.

Marc: From the Pyre just feels like an extension of Prelude to Ecstasy. Where their debut felt like they were testing the waters with their sonics, aesthetics, and the general world of The Last Dinner Party, From the Pyre takes listeners into that vision with no hesitation. I will say, Prelude to Ecstasy had more of a consistent sound throughout, this alternative chant, Florence Welch-like rock and lyricism, whereas some of the tracks off of this most recent record step into eras that feel exciting and natural for the band. “Inferno” sounds like it could be an Elton John cover with that beautiful piano and “Hold Your Anger” has an old-timey, anthem-like quality to it. I was happy to see that with this record, The Last Dinner Party stayed true to what we fell in love with in the first place while also still making an effort to explore new sounds.

Dimitra: As Marc said earlier, I would describe the two albums as sisters, where Prelude to Ecstasy is the rebellious and younger one, and From The Pyre is the older one, who has learned to transform anger into energy, sometimes revealing the wounds she carries with her. They are two consistent but absolutely not repetitive albums, the second one seeming just like the natural consequence of Prelude to Ecstasy. In fact, if that was the prelude, I would say that this time we are right in the middle, in the most significant act of their stage play.

The Last Dinner Party teased From the Pyre with “This is the Killer Speaking,” “The Scythe,” and “Second Best.” Are these singles faithful representations of the album?

Andrew: In the happiest way possible – no. Each of these tunes can combat each other for the title of “easiest listen” yet the songs that were kept until release day are the entrancing ones. Take a tune like “Woman is a Tree” which has a full choral hymn halfway through, and the numerous songs without a true chorus. While the three aforementioned songs are great singles, the album features too many memorable moments that soar across it for verse-chorus-verse-chorus songwriting to represent the band’s full vision. “The Scythe” preps people for this, but the two-line-repeated-twice choruses found on both “Second Best” and “This is the Killer Speaking” aren’t found elsewhere with nearly the same emphasis.

Marc: I’d say out of the three singles, “The Scythe” is most representative of what listeners can expect from the album. That song is grand in so many aspects, the subject matter, Abigail Morris’s soaring vocals, whereas the other two are undoubtedly strong tracks but just scratch the surface of the record’s complexities. That being said “Second Best” and “This is the Killer Speaking” have that same frenetic energy that tracks like “My Lady of Mercy” have on their debut record, reinforcing that they’re not leaving behind the elements that draws listeners their way to begin with.

Dimitra: In terms of expectations, as Marc and Andrew have already said, “The Scythe” better prepares the listener for what they might find in this gem of an album. Dramatic in just the right measure, it feels like surrendering to pain with a slight smile on your face. Perfect. “This is the Killer Speaking” and “Second Best” are songs that I love to death, but I don’t think they fully express what the album represents, although I find the former very suitable for describing the witchy aspect of the record.

The Last Dinner Party said, “‘The Pyre’ itself is an allegorical place in which these tales originate, a place of violence and destruction but also regeneration, passion and light.” Does this description capture the spirit of these songs, and where do you hear or feel it most?

Andrew: “I Hold Your Anger” is the perfect example of identifying the pain and growing from it. One of my favorite songs of the year, the first half burns through all of the societal expectations of a woman. It’s a haunting tale that concludes juxtaposed by staring at the woman in the cage next to her grave. Instrumentally the song is somber yet powerful and when the strings start soaring halfway through, you can’t help but feel the power.

Marc: I think they perfectly encapsulated what From the Pyre covers across its songs. “Inferno” and “Sail Away” sit in that place of ‘regeneration, passion and light,’ offering those quieter moments that feel more pensive and introspective. I have to agree with Andrew’s characterization of “I Hold Your Anger,” one of the more energetic tracks that fit the ‘violence and destruction’ energy, along with that violent imagery in songs like “Rifle” and “This is the Killer Speaking.” It’s difficult to create a record that cohesively covers such a diverse range of topics, emotions, and lived experiences, and The Last Dinner Party does so expertly.

Dimitra: That description fits perfectly. The song that I think best embodies this feeling on the album is “Rifle,” which is unsettling and mysterious, destructive but liberating. “I Hold Your Anger” is also a great example, as Andrew says. It best describes the pain, the fears, but also the power of being a woman. It really gives me the feeling of a bomb that is about to explode at any moment.

The band are also quoted calling their songs “character driven but still deeply personal, a commonplace life event pushed to pathological extreme,” saying this album feels “a little darker, more raw and more earthy.” Which of these songs feels the most intense, for you?

Andrew: The first half is full of these, you can barely breathe with how much passion and intensity they pack into the performances. “Count the Ways” turns the bass up while Abigail Morris contorts her voice up and down the scale. “Rifle” dares to ask the most direct question of all time: “Are you happy now?” and immediately falls into an Arctic Monkeys-esque riff.

Marc: “The Scythe” feels raw and cathartic; it has a fantastic build up and subtle lyrical changes that pack a punch to the heart, making for a profoundly intense listening experience each time. “Woman is a Tree” also is another track that feels character driven, and thus, it creates a sort of intense imagery that is only strengthened by those primal chants throughout. If there’s one thing that The Last Dinner Party does particularly well, it’s creating songs that have a grand crescendo moment.

Dimitra: “Rifle” and “Second Best,” without a doubt. I see the first as more aggressive and courageous, while the second best expresses loads and loads of accumulated frustration ready to come out, pain that instead of scaring or pushing you away, only makes you want to try even harder than before and not give up for any reason, even if it means hurting yourself.

Which song(s) stand out for you on the album, and why?

Andrew: “Rifle” is unreal. It’s got my favorite riff off the album, a soaring chorus, phenomenal choral outro, and the lyrics hit the most direct. Inferno’s also the point when the intensity is lightly lifted, and we finally get a chance to smile. It’s a sensational closer. Lastly, as an avid hater of ballads, “Sail Away” is incredible.

Dimitra: “Agnus Dei.” It’s very theatrical, starting with an apocalyptic landscape from which you cannot escape, and most likely wouldn’t want to anyway. It’s a story that begins so solemnly and ends with a choir that seems angelic but is nonetheless overwhelming. The perfect start to an album like this.

Marc: I haven’t been able to stop listening to “Inferno” and “I Hold Your Anger.” There are plenty that are orbiting in and out of my regular listening habits, but these two have remained consistent. I think they both lean into an older, more Elton John-esque kind of production that I found really charming with Morris’s voice. They both juggle between feeling hopeful and confused by a bit of melancholy. That lyrical mirroring is really interesting and makes them addicting for me personally.

Do you have any favorite lyrics so far? Which lines stand out?

Andrew: “Out in your garden, spring has come” off the sensational “Sail Away” is gutting. It’s a song littered with memorable lines but as an avid gardener, I recognize how special that time is. Sharing it with someone else is special. “Sail Away” is special because it relies heavily on “if,” and never “when.” I also adore “I’m Jesus Christ, I’m swinging in a gallery in France” off the closer Inferno. It’s an extremely dramatic album, why not end it with a little bit of humor?

Dimitra: “With deluxe understanding, I’ll shelter your soul / Sister of mine, you will never grow cold” from “Woman is a Tree.” The whole song gives me goosebumps. I find the comparison between being a woman and being a tree brilliant, from the fact that society expects us to bear fruit to being a refuge for others. Also, the fact that we can (and should!) be a shelter for other women, other sisters, gives me so much comfort.

Marc: “I Hold Your Anger” beautifully characterizes the weight of carrying something that was never meant to be yours, “I don’t want to see you cry / When your gods come crashing down / I hold your sorrows, hold your fears / Hold your anger in my tears / Nobody asked me to / But that is what I’m meant to do.” This half self imposed, half assigned role of being a caretaker and healer is put so simply yet powerfully in these couple lines. Masters of imagery, “Hold your anger in my tears” conjures up a striking visual while also providing a nuanced interpretation to the burden of living this way.

The bridge and chorus of “Inferno” is also a standout, “There will be no second chance / And cowardice is prettiest in a nice dress / From high command, I feel the need to confess / In the morning / In the evening / I keep trying, lord I’m trying . . . / Breathing in the dust of an inferno.” The optimism elicited by the instrumentals in combination with these raw and vulnerable lyrics allows them to pack an even harder punch.

Where do you feel From the Pyre sits in the pantheon of The Last Dinner Party’s discography?

Andrew: There’s no real pantheon yet, but I genuinely don’t know how a band tops an album like this. ‘Sophomore slumps’ are real, as bands typically have their whole life to write their first album yet only a few years for their second. My brain breaks thinking about the level of quality From the Pyre presents in less than two years from their debut.

Dimitra: I’m actually quite torn. I still need time to digest this album properly and decide whether I like it more or less than the first one, partly because Prelude to Ecstasy was the album that introduced me to the band and made me fall in love with them, so at the moment I’m not impartial enough to rank these sensational records. Like sisters, they both occupy a special place in my heart, and especially in my playlists.

Marc: I think this album really affirms their spot in the genre. As Andrew said, sophomore albums (especially ones coming off an incredibly successful debut) can sometimes tend to not fully stick the landing, but “From the Pyre” is the exception without a doubt. It’s polished, has a lot to say without being too clunky or overbearing, and compounds upon what brought about their initial success. They have some big shoes to fill with their third, but I think fans should be satisfied for years to come with both these fantastic records!

— —

:: stream/purchase From the Pyre here ::

:: connect with The Last Dinner Party here ::

— —

— — — —

Connect to The Last Dinner Party on
Facebook, Threads, TikTok, Instagram

Discover new music on Atwood Magazine

 © Laura Marie Cieplik

From the Pyre

an album by The Last Dinner Party