Wilder Music

By Emily Suchanska.

Two years since their debut single ‘Nothing Matters’ the fivesome band The Last Dinner Party have been faced with a lot of online scrutiny, shouting ‘Industry Plants!’ But the band was prepared, with a set aesthetic of sex and death, ripped tights and flowy skirts they cemented themselves as alt-rockstar icons, releasing their first studio album ‘Prelude To Ecstasy’ in February of 2024. 

Their sophomore album ‘From the Pyre’ marks a quick return from the singer Abigail Morris, bassist Georgie Davies, keyboardist Aurora Nishevci and guitarists Emily Roberts and Lizzie Mayland just a year after their world tour.

Instead of an ornate, theatrical piece of art that their first album was associated with, the band transforms themselves into a dark and broody arthouse film; filled with despair, longing and isolation. They inject the bloodlust and body horror of being a woman into their music; creating an anthem for women and girls across the world.

We open the album with ‘Agnus Dei’ a reference to Christian Liturgies as a designation for Jesus, Morris explores a hallucinatory love affair feeling like an ‘Apocalypse’ that she ‘can’t get enough of.’ Throughout the song Morris thrivingly uses violent imagery as a metaphor for love and constant intertextuality that the band is known for such as ‘’Twas on the banks, the Ohio.’ We witness this thematic repetition again in ‘Count the days’ as the narrator mourns the wedding day strings that ‘should be for me’ alluding herself to a snake that’ll ‘crawl beneath your skin.’ Roberts and Morris compose the song with a much heavier tone, leading more into the art rock influences with a strong electric guitar chord representing the bitterness and anger within the narrator.

Originally titled as ‘Yeehaw Interlude,’ ‘This Is The Killer Speaking’ follows a more American sounding melody with Mayland playing a cowboy in the music video and Morris a mythical centaur. The band explore the disappointment and anger with being ghosted within a relationship where ‘Kindness didn’t last.’ Seemingly though the narrator attempts to find strength within this abandonment, comparing themself to a killer who is ‘wanted across several county lines.’ The transition from a bass and drum heavy introduction to a melodic, heavy vocal chorus reflects the narrator’s transformation within themselves, hoping to become their ex’s worst enemy and stating that they hope ‘your coat is still stained with me.’

Through tracks six and seven, ‘Rifle’ and ‘Woman is a Tree,’we explore the notions of patriarchy and gender roles within relationships. ‘Rifle’ explores the dark expectations thrust upon men, to kill, dominate and conquer. The layered vocals within the chorus reflect the pain of women existing within such a society with the increasing tempo reflecting the alarm and panic within women, remarking ‘Let this be the end.’ The vocals of ‘Woman is a tree’ are similar, instead expressing pain at being forced into familial positions, theyre expected to thanklessly ‘shelter your soul’ and sustain life within a society that constantly undermines them.

Both these songs take a wider perspective on the issues within relationships, whereas before there was a focus on personal feelings of anger, loss and desire, instead these songs focus on women as a whole, the universal experience of women in the patriarchy, reminiscing greatly within listeners as they find themselves comforted and validated in their feelings and shared experiences. This extends to songs ‘I Hold Your Anger’ and ‘Sail Away’ which explore the anger of women, the trauma they carry and how they’re reduced to objects by those around them, remarking that ‘I’m more than a girl.’

We end the album with track ten titled ‘Inferno’ seemingly returning to the ever-present theme of heartache as the narrator compares her heart to a ‘glorified abscess.’ Intertextuality is heavily present within the lyrics as the narrator connotes themselves to ‘Jesus Christ’ and ‘Joan of Arc’ – perhaps trying to find power within themself only to ultimately end with the description ‘I’m nothing but a shell,’ fed up with playing a persona and accepting their depression and hopelessness. The piano acts as a natural conclusion, we’ve gone full circle from hard, avant garde rock influences to soft, string melodies; a natural progression as the narrator copes with their grief surrounding relationships and sense of self.

‘From The Pyre’ is a beautiful and raw album, with an incredible artistic vision it encapsulates the feelings of universal girlhood; the songs blend thematically, with overall themes of nature, religion and anger. It doesn’t fall into the trap of being forgettable, too similar to ‘Prelude to Ecstasy’ to stand out, instead it carves out its own place in their discography. The album takes many risks, from incantational vocals to gruesome themes and discussions, yet it still succeeds in maintaining The Last Dinner Party’s popularity whilst bringing something new to the table.