Disc Frenzy

The Last Dinner Party’s meteoric rise from formation in 2021 to supporting the Rolling Stones in London in 2022 to Brit Award winner in 2024 had the more cynical voices of music journalism – or the more sexist – decrying the acclaimed five-piece band as a record company invention. They aren’t, of course, and their 2024 debut album Prelude to Ecstacy was potentially the best pop work of its year. They wear their influences proudly: Bowie and Bush, and I’d be astonished if they weren’t fans of Patti Smith.

It is perhaps a surprise to see their second album From the Pyre emerge so rapidly. Released just 20 months after the first, it belies one’s expectations for a modern group that would typically be too busy touring to spend time in the studio. The new disc continues in a very familiar style for fans of the first album, and while it may lack a little of Prelude to Ecstacy‘s ‘shock of the new’ it will absolutely satisfy their fan base while attracting new listeners at the same time.

Given the closeness of the albums, the new work does not diverge too far from the old one. It is a little darker for sure, and certainly a little more refined. “Second Best” is a highlight, as is the popular single “This is the Killer Speaking” and the powerfully anti-war “Rifle”; they all have a driving pace that helps to energise the first half. Lead singer Abigail Morris continues to exert a monumental presence: seemingly born to headline a rock band, she struts and pouts like a latter-day Mercury or Tyler.

When picking a superior album for The Last Dinner Party, it is really going to be a matter of choosing one’s favourite songs between the two. I would not personally favour one over the other. This really is a superb and evocative album, presented with talent by one of the world’s most exciting new bands. It is so good to have them here.

From the Pyre is The Last Dinner Party’s second studio album. It was released on 17 October 2025.