On October 17th, alternative British girl band The Last Dinner Party released their second studio album, From the Pyre. Following the success of their first album, Prelude to Ecstasy, fans long awaited the release of the album, and the band delivered a quality product—developing their distinctive style and key imagery. While the album had many high points, overall, it wasn’t as unique compared to their past album.
Unlike their first album Prelude to Ecstasy, From the Pyre is a vignette style album. While the individual stories presented in each song are told effectively with compelling melodies, the album can at times lack cohesion.
It starts off strong with the song Agnus Dei. The intro of the song is very effective, and is very rock compared to some of their past songs. While lyricism is usually their strength, instrumentals and production shined a bit brighter on this track. The song had well balanced instrumentals, but the vocals didn’t stand out as much. However, it set the stage for the album well and set a good standard for the rest of the songs to live up to.
The album kept up with the second track, Count the Ways. More theatrical than Agnus Dei, Count the Ways was definitely a standout. Similar to track one, it had more of a clear rock influence than many of the Last Dinner Party’s other songs. Despite this, the lyrics told a compelling story of missing a former lover, with lead singer Abigail Morris singing in the chorus, “I count the days since I could recall your face / oh, the days don’t get easier / the gaps just get bigger until I can almost bear thinking of you.” Overall, the instrumental and vocals come together to create a strong, emotional narrative of a complicated relationship with great production.
The third song off the album, and one of its three singles, is arguably one of the band’s best songs, Second Best. The track begins with a beautiful almost worship-style intro of the entire band before transitioning mid-lyric to a slow, grounded chant saying, “take me back, take me back / let us walk by the shore / by the hand, by the hair I don’t care anymore.” The song then transitions to a faster first verse, where the main theme of the song is introduced: longing for a time in a relationship where you weren’t the second best option. In contrast to their past songs which draw heavily on classical and Catholic imagery, Second Best (and the album in general) features more modern references. This departure does break away from one of the band’s distinct features, but the production and incredible vocals make up for it. The second verse showcases Morris’ raw emotional delivery, singing, “babe, you know it ain’t fair, you leave me again / he’s waiting downstairs / there’s always somebody downstairs / ain’t it nice? second best.” The song is incredibly dynamic and really showcases the frustration that comes with being the second choice in a relationship.
The fourth track and lead single off the album, This is the Killer Speaking, keeps the momentum going from Second Best. The most clearly a vignette compared to the other songs, This is the Killer Speaking tells the story of a murderer eluding capture in an old Western town. The song is heavily influenced by a country style while also having a more vintage sound. Although it tells a fictitious, archetypal story, the song still sounds deeply personal. The band sings about feeling scorned while still being unable to put feelings you once held for someone aside. In the bridge of the song, Morris sings, “you look like a weeping saint with your infected eye / I’m doing time, and I’m down so bad / hope my television appearance drives you f**king mad.” Although more outlandish than the other grounded songs, This is the Killer Speaking is a theatrical, fun song that leaves you always catching more upon each new listen.
Another standout from the album is Rifle. It’s much slower than the previous songs and tells the story of a hunt. Unlike the other very emotional songs, this song relies more on imagery and effect than on emotional impact. Despite this, the song’s melody is both soft and extremely catchy. It’s slightly spooky, but has different layers that build up to create a darkly beautiful song. Over the course, it grows from quiet and gentle to angry, and almost primal. One nice addition to the song is the outro, which is entirely in French — adding depth and surprise to the song.
Woman is a Tree is a very unique track. The entire first minute of the song is acapella vocalizing amongst the five members, which creates an almost pagan image. The vocals are almost unsettling, with the initially soft harmonies growing increasingly erratic. However, this aspect of the song is quickly forgotten. The rest of the song is a little less original compared to other songs off the album. It’s still quite catchy, but not as memorable.
The next track, I Hold Your Anger, is one of the album’s weaker songs. While the song tells a powerful story about the different types of emotional labor you take on as a woman in relationships, the production of the song doesn’t seem as thoughtful. Unlike many of the band’s other songs, lead vocals on this track are not sung by Morris, but by Aurora Nishevci (who plays keyboard). Although she has led vocals on other songs very well, this song fell slightly flat. The somewhat monotonous piano in the background doesn’t pair well with Nishevci’s low voice, making the whole song sound kind of “one note.” Also, while being about anger and the confusion of handling another’s emotions, the song is written like a sad ballad. The idea and lyricism behind it is very strong, but it could have been improved by vocals by a different member, an angrier tone, and more instrumentals.
Similar to I Hold Your Anger, the next track off the album, Sail Away is a slow, sad ballad. Unlike the previous track, the song tells a much more cohesive story, and has a very dynamic outro that helps develop the narrative. The lyrics fluctuate from describing a scene of a relationship to a picturesque seaside, drawing comparisons between the two and the overarching theme of leaving something behind that you love. Morris’ vocals stand out particularly in this song, sounding angelic but emotional as she sings, “then I would take my ship, have no one else on it and sail away / I’m more than a girl, I am a seaside / you carved your name inside of my thigh / blue eyes, stained glass.” Although the first couple minutes of the song are quite slow, the final minute brings an absolutely stunning outro. The band switches between singing the words “away” and “take you with me everywhere, I’ll take you with me anywhere,” growing increasingly emotional while the instrumentals build and build. Overall, despite the slow start, the song becomes very memorable by the end.
The final standout from the album is the third single, The Scythe. One of the band’s most emotional songs, The Scythe tells a heartbreaking story of grief, both of a loved one and the relationship itself. The song is powerful in a variety of ways. The production of the song is very multifaceted and purposeful, perfectly matching Morris’ tone and lyrics while not overpowering them. In The Scythe, Morris sings, “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.” Her voice throughout the track is always climbing towards new heights, really showing off her range and sounding divine in the process. The lyricism is another striking element of the song. The band cleverly begins the song with Morris pleading, “make it quick, so I can’t see the scythe in its sheath” in the first verse, and in the last verse saying, “nothing lasts, I know I’ve seen the scythe in its sheath” after her relationship has fallen apart.
The final song, Inferno, doesn’t close out the album as well as it could. It sounds very similar to Angus Dei, and didn’t stand out particularly in terms of lyricism, vocals, and production. The album could have packed more punch if the penultimate and final songs were switched.
Overall, the album was extremely strong, but a few songs carried the others. Count the Ways, Second Best, This is the Killer Speaking, Rifle, and The Scythe, are all significantly better than the other tracks, mainly due to their uniqueness. The rest of the tracks, although well composed, tend to sound the same, with only a few key features separating them.
The album could have leaned a little more heavily on the emotional aspects of the songs, as that’s where the Last Dinner Party’s strengths lie. Some of their best songs, such as Second Best, The Scythe, or Nothing Matters, On Your Side, and Portrait of a Dead Girl (from their previous album) don’t try to tell a complicated story or rely too heavily on imagery. The lyricism speaks for itself, and it’s one of the band’s most impressive accomplishments.
From the Pyre is worth a listen if you like alternative music with a bit of a theatrical touch, but it isn’t as powerful as some of their previous work. The vignettes in the album are nice on their own, but don’t have as many common threads as you would expect. Nevertheless, The Last Dinner Party is an extremely talented new band that never disappoints.