The Last Dinner Party – Prelude to Ecstasy review

Who really is who – and what – everyone else thinks they are? Isn’t life all just a game of pretend? These are pretty fundamental questions to drape around the shoulders of a band that few outside of the London gig circuit knew barely 12 months ago, but that period has taught us that The Last Dinner Party’s defining qualities include fantasy and escapism, leaving both listeners and observers in turn to break the cypher.

Prelude To Ecstasy is not uncommon in being a much hyped debut album, but the quintet whether consciously or not find themslves with it staring down a coterie of haters, as well finally satiating a ravenous fan appetite for their music.

If this language seems overly flamboyant for what is after all just a record, it’s approporiate because there’s been a conscious design to their gothic pop, a flair for performance inside song which Kate Bush and Florence Welsh trailblazed. Slicker than their live work – Arctic Monkeys producer James Ford is at the controls – the proggy Caesar On a TV Screen, Burn Alive and Portrait Of A Dead Girl’s epic sweep are all good enough to eat, but it’s still the more familiar Nothing Matters which best articulates their rich promise. It’s time to put on your mask and let The Last Dinner Party help you be whatever you want.

You can read a full review here.