The Last Dinner Party have made a triumphant return with their new single ‘This is the Killer Speaking’, the lead single from their recently announced second album, ‘From the Pyre’.
This sparks the start of an exciting new era for the band and their fans with it serving as a follow up to their critically acclaimed debut LP, ‘Prelude to Ecstasy, that led to them bagging two Brit awards and a sold out UK Tour.
The new record is described as being “the sound of a band having a lot of fun” rather than it being a reflection of them “feeling any innate pressure to follow-up on what was an explosively successful debut record. It’s also the sound of a young band developing and maturing their songwriting together”.
This is clear from the get go. It starts off slow, with a beat and tempo that resemble that of a 1950’s Nashville record, a trope that the pop music industry has seen a rise in over the past eighteen months, with the likes of Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter making country mainstream again.
The track speeds up around the one minute mark. The pre chorus’ oxymoronic lyrics “Good morning, good looking! This is the killer speaking / Good morning, handsome! This is the killer on the line”, being a fitting way to show off the track’s combination of genres. Their darkly humorous nature helps smooth the transition from raw country riffs into a mainstream indie-pop beat with ease.
Despite the catchy chorus showing similarities in style, tone and genre to their other hit singles ‘Nothing Matters’ and ‘The Feminine Urge’ this is an individual record in its own right. It returns to its slower, country-esque beat and temp after the chorus before picking the pop beat back up for one final run in moments that for me had glimpses of the work of Lady A and The Chicks.
Edgy lyrics in the final verse, such as “You look like a weeping saint / With your infected eye and “And I’m down so bad / Hope my television appearance drives you fucking mad!” paint the band in a more mature light whilst still allowing them to maintain their lyrical solidarity along with their almighty fierce yet somewhat camp presence.
So, whilst this track is a masterclass from The Last Dinner Party in genre-bending as well as lyrically maturing and evolving as a band, it also stays true to their indie roots and as long as they are still doing that, nothing (else) matters!
Words by Cory Gourley
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