The ladies of The Last Dinner Party were already living out rock fantasies before releasing a note of music. Opening slots for The Rolling Stones and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds would be the pinnacle for most bands, not the starting point. Prelude to Ecstasy is full of sweeping cinematic drama, the theatre kids have made an album. A galloping drum in the chorus as singer Abigail Morris sings “You think it’s romantic… we’re both just addicts”. An expansive vocal performance and drums power “The Feminine Urge” on a track about mother/daughter relationships that “nurture the wounds my mother held”. Heady stuff.
Produced by producer of the year, James Ford, the album has thus far yielded a staggering seven singles including “Beautiful Boy” about the ease in which pretty young gents can move through life. The quintet’s twin guitar attack gets turned up on “Sinner” that also adds dissonance on “My Lady of Mercy” on an otherwise clap happy pop song.
The highlight of the album is first single, “Nothing Matters”. An expression of love with nothing held back. The group singing in the chorus lifts the song into an anthem when they sing, “And I will f*** you like nothing matters”. It’s a powerful moment on an album full of them. At times, Prelude to Ecstasy can be a bit tiring, like a precocious teenager who is mostly clever but hasn’t figured it all out yet. It’s a minor gripe, the debut from The Last Dinner Party is full of histrionic outbursts of great songs.
8/10
The Light Appears 