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Someone has dumped the contents of a laundry basket from a costume department onto a 10-legged progressive pop band. They are breaking free from the corsets and linens using flutes and keytars. This is the scene as Last Dinner Party performs at a well-known venue in Bristol. The band appears in a chaotic mix of tossed hair, Napoleonic attire, mandolins, and modern clothing, all in celebration of a rescheduled show that could have been held at a larger venue.
The group has been declared the victors of what could be referred to as the new band double – the BBC Sound of 2024 recognition and the Brits Rising Star award. Their first album, Prelude to Ecstasy, will be released this weekend, and they will perform at London’s Roundhouse, which can hold 1,800 people. Their upcoming tour will also include larger venues. It is significant to note that this is the first time in 11 years that a guitar band has won the BBC Sound of award. It is also worth mentioning that Haim won in 2013, and the Last Dinner Party is mostly comprised of female and non-binary members, which is fitting as well.
The atmosphere is akin to watching indoor firecrackers, with guitar necks entwined and people crowded together, their bouffant sleeves brushing. Lead singer Abigail Morris, who could easily portray a young Helena Bonham Carter in a biopic, puts her entire body into her vocals, headbanging and thrusting her elbows as she moves around the listed venue’s iron support pillars. It’s worth noting that the independently owned Fleece, with a capacity of 450, is a remarkable success story in the current bleak landscape for grassroots venues. They used a pre-pandemic grant to renovate the entire place during lockdown. In contrast, the nearby Bath Moles closed its doors in December, and a recent report from the Music Venues Trust reveals that 16% of the nation’s small venues shut down last year. Perhaps you heard Mark Davyd from MVT on the Today programme two weeks ago, emphasizing that a £1 fee on arena tickets would largely solve the problem, which, apart from cultural destruction and job losses, will inevitably create a bottleneck in the supply of new talent – such as The Last Dinner Party. This five-piece band’s journey through live performances has set them apart in an era where digital fame reigns supreme.
Paradoxically, the Last Dinner Party’s dedication to traditional methods may have sparked criticism when they released their first single last spring. Being fully developed from the start led to accusations of being “industry plants”, a vague notion often directed at those, especially females, whose rapid success is questioned.
Tonight, there will be no inquiries regarding their musical abilities, nor any need to prove their concept: their songs revolve around themes of passion, Catholic guilt, and toxic relationships, all delivered with high-energy performances. Guitarist Emily Roberts showcases her signature St Vincent guitar and skillfully plays rock solos with a knowing smile. Her experience in a Queen cover band (as Brian May) is evident, but her precision and composure stem from her training at a conservatory. In 2020, she was a semi-finalist in the BBC Young Jazz Musician of the Year competition; in TLDP, she also showcases her talent on the mandolin and flute in songs like Gjuha and Beautiful Boy.
Georgia Davies’s strong bass is adorned with white fabric strips as she evades the sharp, angular movements of lead singer Lizzie Mayland. On the other side of Morris, keyboardist Aurora Nishevci stands out as a modern outlier, resembling a young woman out for the night rather than a disheveled lady-in-waiting. Nishevci is also the highly trained composer who opens and closes the band’s dynamic debut album with classical music, and sings “Gjuha” – meaning “tongue” in Albanian – a song about her struggles with her native language. (Touring drummer Rebekah Rayner completes the group.)
The Last Dinner Party performed a lively hour-long set, featuring many songs from their first album. The performance was cut short due to technical difficulties, but the band’s energy was still evident. One song, Beautiful Boy, delves into the topic of gender roles and tells the story of a charming man who can get away with anything because of his good looks. The entire band starts off the song with a beautiful a cappella harmony.
In the music video for “Caesar on a TV Screen,” Morris reflects on the unequal distribution of power between genders. Fans in the audience at the front sing along to one of the band’s ambitious declarations. Morris sings, “As a child, I never felt like a child. I felt like an emperor with a city to destroy!”
TDLP’s combination of Kate Bush’s precise enunciation and Måneskin’s grandiose rock may not appeal to everyone. The fact that both Justin Hawkins from The Darkness and Florence Welch of Florence + the Machine have praised them speaks volumes, especially considering Welch’s maximalist style that clearly influences the band. Their version of “rock” may come across as exaggerated, especially given their background playing in indie venues. However, their intentions were clear from the start – they did not want to be just another post-punk band. In an interview, they stated that their vibe is more of an “end-of-the-world orgy” rather than singing about the hardships of living in a crisis.
Following Sinner, a song partially sung by Mayland, the troublesome gremlins appeared and caused disruptions during the Last Dinner Party performance. The band humorously ad-libbed until the technical issues were resolved. Morris made a joke about the situation, comparing it to Lana Del Rey’s shortened set at Glastonbury in 2023. The band returned and chose to end with their first single, Nothing Matters. This song was met with doubt, as it was deemed too confident and polished for a group of ambitious young women who had worked hard to perfect their vision and gain management and a record label. As Morris sang “And I will make love to you, like nothing matters,” she gestured towards the sky, alluding to the technical difficulties they faced. She exclaimed, “Nothing matters!”
Source: theguardian.com
