The Last Dinner Party set up a world of escapism with “Prelude to Ecstasy”
by Agnetha Van Miegham
With influences such as Florence and the Machine, David Bowie and Kate Bush, the British band The Last Dinner Party has released their debut album. Prelude To Ecstasy is the soundtrack to a gothic, art rock film, which embodies escapism. This album is composed very carefully in a reminiscent way of classical music.
The highlight for Abigail Morris’ vocals must be “Caesar on a TV Screen.” To me, they’re the strongest vocals from this entire album. The lyrics in this song pokes fun at rulers, such as Caesar with “No one can tell me to stop / I'll have everything I want / Anyone and everyone will like me then / Everyone will love me.”
Their very first single, “Nothing Matters,” was the first song I’d heard of them on the radio. It quickly became my favourite song because of that ABBA kind of sound, despite the band having long shut down that conversation. It’s an incredibly catchy song, though the songwriting may seem a bit bland or weaker compared to their other songs.
“On Your Side” is a Mazzy Star-esque song with a melancholic tone. The lyrics of this song use a sucking vampire as a metaphor for not wanting to let go of a toxic relationship: “And I wish I didn’t want you / Wish I could do without / This blood on my face / Where your teeth sunk in / Bite me again.” The dark nature of this song is what really got me hooked on this song.
The song “Portrait Of A Dead Girl” uses a 4/4-time signature and a D Major scale, which isn’t too surprising. The theatrical, orchestral sound in this song is the result of that very usage of the D Major scale - that scale was used a lot by classical composers.
This album is overall incredible, proving that The Last Dinner Party is clearly worth the hype. Though there are certainly working points. The songwriting of songs such as “The Feminine Urge” and “On Your Side” set up a lot of potential, though I miss that particular potential in a few songs on this album. Cohesive albums are great, but in Prelude To Ecstasy there’s often the same kind of coherent structure to the songs: a timid intro, which builds up and goes out with a huge bang. It could be the reason why that became tiring to me quite quickly.
The music industry needs bands like The Last Dinner Party right now, especially in pivotal times like these. It’s why I’m very hopeful and excited to see what lies ahead for the future of these awesome ladies.
