The Last Dinner Party’s debut album, A Prelude to Ecstasy, is a musically extravagant must-listen that left me excited for more.
Upon hearing The Last Dinner Party’s latest tracks, they quickly climbed up to one of my most listened-to Spotify artists. The queer Indie British band consists of Abigail Morris on the vocals, Lizzie Mayland on guitar and vocals, Georgia Davies on bass, Aurora Nishevci on keys and vocals, and last but not least, Emily Roberts, who is the lead guitar and plays the mandolin and flute.
The band released their debut alum A Prelude to Ecstasy on February 2, 2024, and it quickly became a hit, especially since their track Nothing Matters was already experiencing fame on TikTok. The album consists of twelve songs and the run time is about forty minutes for the whole album. The album itself is nothing less than phenomenal with its amazing harmonies and extravagant vocals and strong messages.
“Burn Alive”
The second track on the album “Burn Alive”, written by band member Abigail Morris, was written after the passing of her father, and the song makes her grief a sort of commodity. She puts herself fully out there in this song, putting everything on the line and creating this sort of holy flaming vision of her being burned alive by her pain, her art, and her inspirations. In an interview with Apple Music Abigail Morris says “It was the idea of, ‘Let me make my grief a commodity’—this kind of slightly sarcastic ‘I’m going to put my heart on the line and all my pain and everything for a buck.’ The idea of being ecstatic by being burned alive—by your pain and by your art and by your inspiration—in a kind of holy-fire way. What we’re here to do is be fully alive and committed to exorcising any demons, pain, or joy.” Everything about this song is amazing, and you can hear the strong passion behind it, which has made it one of my favorites on the album. It is the perfect strong introduction to the album and is a great introduction to the band’s vocals and skills.
“The Feminine Urge”
“The Feminine Urge” is the fourth track on the album and explores the cycle of generational trauma, they specifically cover generational trauma between women and traumas and connections between mothers and daughters. The song is fast-paced and powerful and narrows in on the feminine rage experience and what it’s like to be a woman. I found that I enjoyed this song because of how they lyrically convey the message, and the instrumentals that go with that add to that feeling of feminine rage.
It’s a very traditional structure, song-verse-chorus, and it’s not challenging or weird. It’s nice that the ending feels like this very beautiful decay. It’s sort of rotting, but it sounds very beautiful, but it is this death and gasping. I really like how that illustrates what the song’s about.
— Abigail Morris
“On Your Side”
“On Your Side” was definitely another one of my favorites on the album. The song is a sort of messy love song about devotion. The track tackles how it feels to be so devoted to someone that no matter what, no matter how much they hurt you and you need to leave, you can’t escape. The song is truly beautiful, Abigail Morris of the band says in an interview with Apple Music “It’s a very traditional structure, song-verse-chorus, and it’s not challenging or weird. It’s nice that the ending feels like this very beautiful decay. It’s sort of rotting, but it sounds very beautiful, but it is this death and gasping. I really like how that illustrates what the song’s about.” The song sounds heartbreaking but loving, and you can feel the emotions in it which is why I enjoyed it and why I recommend it.
A Prelude to Ecstasy is amazing and I truly think everyone should give a listen too. Every song is phenomenal and brings something new from the band to the table. Between the beautiful lyrics and the amazing harmonies and instrumentals, the album is absolutely beautiful and extravagant and the perfect debut album.
