Review Summary: A great, albeit slightly frustrating, sophomore release from The Last Dinner Party. Accusations of nepotism be damned.
Nepotism and privilege are by no means a new concept in the music or entertainment industry. For decades, children of the wealthy or famous have always,
always had an easier go of it than the average person when it comes to carving out a musical career. You could argue that those who benefit from nepotism and generational wealth aren’t just born with a silver spoon in their mouths, but also with a foot in the door. In recent years, the term “nepo-baby” has been popularized to describe such individuals, and the term often has a negative connotation to it. The thing is, benefiting from privilege doesn’t inherently mean you lack talent; it means that you’re granted far more opportunities to showcase it. There are countless examples of “nepo-babies” who, regardless of how easy they may have had it, still turned out to be gifted musicians. The Last Dinner Party is an example of this—the five-piece, all-female band is brimming with talent, but it’s near-impossible to discuss this without acknowledging their nepotistic roots. Sometime around the release of their debut,
Prelude to Ecstacy, their previously little-known history (two of the band’s members are alumni of the incredibly prestigious Guildhall School of Music and Drama) was made more public. Combined with the fact that they canceled the last few dates of a European tour last year with little-to-no warning due to mental health reasons, they began to face more and more online backlash. The reason for all of this talk about nepotism is because, after repeated listens of
From the Pyre, it seems as though this newfound criticism of their privileged upbringing and the general public’s growing skepticism of their musical talent has perhaps affected the band’s psyche over time.
From the Pyre feels like a natural evolution from their debut, but at the same time is hampered by inconsistencies, as well as an overall feeling that the band is trying a bit too hard to prove to the world just how talented and profound they are as musicians. To begin with the positives, each of the album’s ten tracks showcase a level of musicianship that, in my opinion, should put any “does this band deserve their fame” talks to rest. Lead vocalist Abigail Williams is a tour-de-force, and oftentimes carries songs on her own with her wide vocal range and powerful, emotive delivery. As for the rest of the band, they’re also quite talented; the songs
Count the Ways and
Rifle are led by excellent guitar work from Emily Roberts. Aurora Nishevci also delivers notable piano performances on multiple occasions, particularly on
Sail Away. The album’s lyrics (which we’ll talk about more in detail later) are also
mostly good, at least in the context of their respective songs. The Last Dinner Party is at its best when each of the five members are able to come together and combine their talents all together in grandiose, avant-garde fashion while delivering anthemic, memorable choruses. The three finest examples of the band working as a cohesive unit are
Agnus Dei (the album’s opener), as well as the album’s first two singles:
This Is the Killer Speaking and
The Scythe. If the other seven tracks of the album reached the same heights as the aforementioned three songs, we would possibly have a masterpiece on our hands.
There are, unfortunately, a number of inconsistencies throughout the rest of
From the Pyre that are just too glaring to ignore, starting with the lyrics. While I stand by my comment from before about them being mostly good, there are a number of head-scratching, awkward lines that can sometimes hamper your enjoyment of the music. When I said earlier that the band seems like they’re trying too hard to be profound, it’s usually because of these weird/pseudo-philosophical lyrics.
“
I’m Jesus Christ, I’m swinging in a gallery in France…I’m Joan of Arc, I’m dying just waiting for your call. I’m watching The Real Housewives and crawling up the walls.”
“
What’s in a when? What’s in a why? What does it mean to live once you’ve survived?”
“
You want the world, I’ll give it to you. Just don’t smoke in your room, buy new running shoes.
I’m sorry, what? What does any of this mean? I’m sure the band wrote these lyrics thinking they sounded intelligent or metaphorical, but they instead end up sounding more like Jaden Smith’s tweets than anything else.
Lyrics aren’t the only inconsistency, to be fair. There are a few songs on
From the Pyre that, whether it’s because of boring hooks or overall low energy, fall flat.
Woman is a Tree is a song whose lyrics are interesting, but it feels more like a spoken-word poem set to music than it does an actual song. The ritualistic, tribal-like chants in between verses also feel out of place.
Second Best on the other hand starts off in a very intriguing way, beginning with a Queen-esque, theatrical intro, but is sadly let down by its chorus, which is easily one of the most boring on the album. A fun fact about the band is that they don’t have a designated drummer, and that’s never been more apparent than with the simple, repetitive drumming in the chorus of
Second Best. Lastly,
I Hold Your Anger and
Sail Away on their own are decent ballads, but they’re both let down by their placement on
From the Pyre’s tracklist, and the album’s overall flow stalls for a bit because of this.
It may sound like I’m coming down a bit harsh on
From the Pyre, but the album truly does have more positives than negatives, and the talent on display is undeniable. These “nepo-babies” are more than deserving of the fame they’ve achieved to this point. With that said, The Last Dinner Party would greatly benefit from shutting out the criticism and outside noise from the general public. They’re capable of writing stellar lyrics without having to try so hard to be philosophical or deep. They’re capable of delivering excellent avant-garde flair to their music while still churning out earworms. While it does feel like a step back from their debut, I would recommend this to any art pop or indie rock fan with 43 minutes to spare. The Last Dinner Party
has the potential to create a classic album. But if that potential is ever going to come to fruition, they’re going to have to prioritize consistency and focus on their future releases.
3.5 out of 5
