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“From the Pyre” is English indie rock band The Last Dinner Party’s second studio album, and their much-anticipated follow-up to their debut “Prelude to Ecstasy”, an album which I really enjoyed for the luscious, theatrical production and the earworm debut single “Nothing Matters”. I recall (after having read through my own writing and resisting the full body cringe tingling through my bones) commenting that the group had nailed their sound so spectacularly on the debut. 

Broadly speaking, “From the Pyre” follows the same style as their debut album – the sound that I can best describe as being orchestral or baroque indie rock complemented by lead singer Abigail’s swooping, theatrical vocals waxing poetic about relationships and betrayal with the occasional other-worldly harmonies. That being said, I do detect a bit more edge to the sound, with harsher guitars and rougher drums – such as on the track “This is the Killer Speaking” (the best song on the album if you ask me) where the track explodes into these 80s styled electric guitars and drums along with Abby’s cathartic vocals. It’s nothing that we haven’t heard from the debut, but it does develop on the general style established in the debut. 

On my initial listens I preferred the catchy simplicity of most of their debut more, but this album has since grown on me massively – I think there’s a new confidence shown here in this album with a greater willingness to commit to the imagery of each track. Take the wonderfully peculiar “Woman is a Tree” for example, which is a fantastic song that features a transcendental intro of atonal harmonies that crescendos into something reminiscent of an all-woman sea shanty – it feels like I’m listening to some mysterious force being conjured, which should be the standard for any pop music that tries to bring a certain classic literature vibe. On “Rifle”, another fantastic track, where harsh chants are layered over some gory and very gothic descriptions of blood and red. 

In my review for their debut album, I very purposefully avoided discussing the lyrics – I thought they delved a little bit too deep into a sort of fairly superficial display of female rage over general grievances over the concept of misogyny. My hope was that the songwriting would mature a little as they settle into their musical sound, but unfortunately the lyrics seem to have taken a step backwards here, because I genuinely could not recall a single line from this album. 

Otherwise, the production is generally grander and more maximalist on this album, and there isn’t a single track that I would call a skip. I don’t know if you’d be overtly charmed by this album if you’re already familiar with their sound, but I would say that this is generally on par quality-wise with the debut. 

Favorite Tracks: “This is the Killer Speaking”, “Woman is a Tree”, “Scythe”, “I Hold Your Anger”

Rating: A-