The Last Dinner Party on the response to their debut album and taking inspiration from St Vincent
The Last Dinner Party have reflected on the huge response to their debut album ‘Prelude To Ecstasy’, and revealed that St Vincent was the inspiration for one of their tracks. Watch our video interview with the band above.
It was on the red carpet for the BRIT Awards this weekend (March 2) that the British band caught up with NME – shortly before being presented with the Rising Star award.
Looking back at the huge response to their LP – which became the biggest Number One debut album in nearly a decade – the band recalled their sense of “surprise” at the wave of positive feedback.
“We didn’t really even have it on our bucket list because it’s so ridiculous,” admitted rhythm guitarist Lizzie Mayland. “So we’re very grateful and [it’s all] so surreal.”
Vocalist Abigail Morris also looked back at the band’s recent run of European tour dates across the start of 2024, and described the feeling of stepping on the stage as “heaven”.
“The record came out and we went straight on tour. It was the best tour we’ve ever done because it was the first time that people knew the words to everything,” she explained. “It was really, very beautiful.”
The Last Dinner Party were confirmed as having won the award for BRITs Rising Star ahead of the ceremony, and presented the award on the night by St Vincent. Sharing their admiration for the American singer, songwriter and guitarist, the band told NME about how the artist inspired part of their album.
“She’s a crafter of amazing songs and riffs which we love. And I play her guitar!” said guitarist Emily Roberts, going on to explain how the influence of St Vincent can be heard in ‘Prelude To Ecstasy’.
“Particularly in ‘Sinner’. One of her songs called ‘Marrow’ [featured the collaborative album with David Byrne, ‘Brass Tactics’] inspired the guitar line for ‘Sinner’ that I wrote,” she explained. “So she’s a big inspo!”
The comments also followed words of support by St Vincent herself on the red carpet, when she praised the band’s album as being “adventurous, romantic and dramatic”.
Elsewhere in the interview with NME, The Last Dinner Party shared their admiration for other artists attending the ceremony, including CMAT, Kylie Minogue, SZA and Caroline Polachek, as well as hinting that new music is already on the horizon.
One of the songs teased by Morris was ‘Big Dog’ – which has already become a favourite of the band’s fanbase, despite never having featured on any of their official studio releases.
Speaking about the long-awaited track in a discussion with the Daily Star last month, Morris hinted that the song could feature a star-studded collaboration. “We’ve talked about having Snoop Dogg on a verse,” she said. “‘Big Dog’ is a cursed Nine Inch Nails-meets-Tom Waits situation of a song. We want Snoop to do a verse on that.”
The hints at new music also comes after the band spoke out about their “privilege” in response to an “out of context” quote regarding the cost of living crisis that went viral.
Following their win at the BRITs, the London band and NME 100 alumni are set to hit the road for both a run of US headline shows and a following UK tour. You can find tickets to the US shows here, and for the UK gigs here.
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Liberty Dunworth
NME
