Last October, London band, The Last Dinner Party, returned with their second album – From The Pyre. The initial recordings got derailed when producer James Ford was diagnosed with leukemia who’s hopefully doing better after a tough 2025. The band then worked with another big name producer in Markus Drays. The album manages to avoid the dreaded sophomore jinx with several terrific songs including the soft rock opener “Agnus Dei” that manages to rhyme “Ohio” with “Disembowelled” plus the driving thunder chorus of “Second Best”.
The album shares similarities with their debut in that the five ladies are theatrical in nature, mixing 70s soft rock with harder edges. Single, “This Is The Killer Speaking” is jaunty, with a flash of style. The album closes with a few strong tracks including the slower “Sail Away” that sees singer Abigail Morris sing defiantly that “I would take my ship/Have no one else on it” before “The Scythe” picks up the pace. From The Pyre does an excellent job of picking up where the debut left off and offering up a better distillation of their sound.
8/10
The Light Appears 