Albums to watch

Prelude to Ecstasy

The Last Dinner Party

Prelude to Ecstasy

Debut album from the London indie rock band produced by James Ford (Arctic Monkeys, Blur, Depeche Mode)

ADM rating[?]

8.3

Label
Island
UK Release date
02/02/2024
US Release date
02/02/2024
  1. 10.0 |   The Skinny

    The Last Dinner Party bring the best musical and literary influences to a feast for the end of the world, resulting in a renaissance album that leaves us wanting more
    Read Review

  2. 10.0 |   DIY

    Sky-high, grandiose ambition that ties together lofty literary sentiment, cinematic sweeping theatricality and killer melodic indie hooks with an equal affinity for each
    Read Review

  3. 10.0 |   The Independent

    With their decadent debut, the witchy quintet delivers on the hype
    Read Review

  4. 10.0 |   Record Collector

    Prelude To Ecstasy inhabits its own world as magnificently as The Lexicon Of Love or Dog Man Star
    Read Review

  5. 10.0 |   musicOMH

    Adding curlicues and complexities to popular song forms, the London outfit’s anticipated debut is big and clever
    Read Review

  6. 10.0 |   Dork

    One of the most exciting new prospects in a decade or more, if this is just a prelude to ecstasy, what comes next could be epoch-defining
    Read Review

  7. 9.2 |   Northern Transmissions

    Prelude to Ecstasy, will undeniably be a contender for album of the year, if not decade, worthy of display in the hallowed halls of a musical Vatican
    Read Review

  8. 9.0 |   Clash

    Building their identity with every emotional and musical block they can find and make fit – it’s a delightful, towering debut that will indeed leave you ecstatic
    Read Review

  9. 9.0 |   Under The Radar

    Ford’s production finesses but never overwhelms weaving guitars that snarl and soar, orchestral swells that add epic grandeur, and electronic flourishes that hint at something darker and more introspective
    Read Review

  10. 8.1 |   Paste Magazine

    The South London quintet’s debut LP lives up to its great expectations
    Read Review

  11. 8.0 |   The FT

    Abigail Morris proves a compelling cut-glass frontwoman as the London quintet dispense gothicky orchestral rock
    Read Review

  12. 8.0 |   Exclaim

    If the Last Dinner Party’s debut is but a Prelude to Ecstasy, its masterful focus is a clear promise they’ll be back to enrapture us again
    Read Review

  13. 8.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    The Last Dinner Party don’t leave one dramatic stone unturned. Pleasurably satisfying, you can’t help but come back for more
    Read Review

  14. 8.0 |   God Is In The TV

    There’s substance that matches the style here
    Read Review

  15. 8.0 |   The Guardian

    The five-piece ground their Sparks-like tendency towards excess and musical theatre with consistently well-written songs primed for festival singalongs
    Read Review

  16. 8.0 |   The Irish Times

    The London band burst on the scene trailing accusations of being manufactured, but these well-crafted, thoughtful songs will quieten the naysayers
    Read Review

  17. 8.0 |   Rolling Stone

    There’s no denying the way their blowsy, unrestrained songs knock you upside and down and leave you with a dizzying high
    Read Review

  18. 8.0 |   NME

    This highly-anticipated debut album shines when it indulges in its thrilling expressions of intimacy, desire and regret
    Read Review

  19. 8.0 |   Sputnik Music (staff)

    They sound and act unlike many of their contemporaries, and seem preoccupied with carefully carving out a unique space in the modern indie scene to inhabit. It’s a fun space, regardless of how you may get there - and I’m glad to be here
    Read Review

  20. 8.0 |   No Ripcord

    It’s heaven and hell smashed up against each other—a mix of grit and grace, blood and beauty, danger, and desire. Those living contradictions, filtered through their strong musical identity into a collection of dynamite songs, make this one of the best debuts of the year. Time to believe the hype
    Read Review

  21. 7.3 |   Spectrum Culture

    Hype is a double-edged sword — doubly so in indie music
    Read Review

  22. 7.0 |   PopMatters

    The Last Dinner Party committed an act of mass hypnosis, swiftly securing the top spot on many lists of 2024 indie darlings. Let’s figure out how they did it
    Read Review

  23. 6.8 |   Beats Per Minute

    If the flashes of brilliance on Prelude To Ecstasy tell us one thing, however; The Last Dinner Party have all the intangibles to deliver a future classic in the, well, not so distant future. This is the prelude, after all
    Read Review

  24. 6.5 |   Pitchfork

    The London group’s opulent debut album channels baroque pop and prog of yore, yet for all its high drama, the results sometimes sound too carefully plotted and curiously professional
    Read Review

  25. 6.0 |   Uncut

    A rich saturnine, baroque-pop set full of romantic drama. Strings, piano and keyboard combine with muti-textured guitar in songs that, though engaging, tend toward the florid. Print edition only


blog comments powered by Disqus

Watch it

Roll over video for more options

Hear it

Latest Reviews

More reviews