Prelude to Ecstasy

2024年大ブレイクが期待される、ライヴ・シーンから頭角を現したロンドン出身の注目の5人組バンド、The Last Dinner Party。4月にリリースしたキャッチ―でダークなギター・ポップ曲「Nothing Matters」はオンライン上で話題となり、急速にバンドの名は広まっていった。ライヴを軸に活動してきたバンドはこの夏のイギリス各地で開催されたレディング等のフェスティヴァルでオーディエンスを魅了し、秋に行われたUSツアーも全5公演が公演日数週間前に完売するなどインディー・ロック・ファンの注目を集め、アルバムの期待度が高まっている。

The debut long-player from the London baroque pop provocateurs, Prelude to Ecstasy combines the sweeping, Bronte-esque indie rock of Florence + the Machine and the come-hither decadence of Suede with the winking pop acumen of Sparks and Wet Leg. The groups swift ascension to rock royalty -- they nabbed an opening slot for the Rolling Stones in Hyde Park without releasing a single yet -- was met with knee-jerk accusations of nepotism and industry chicanery, charges that the group rebuked by being really f*cking good. 2023s "Nothing Matters," a lusty, festival-ready anthem that comes off like Anna Calvi-fronting ABBA, stormed the U.K. charts and set a bold precedent. The arrivals of "Sinner" and "My Lady of Mercy" answered the call, with the former channeling Roxy Music and Bowie -- check out the gnarly, Carlos Alomar-inspired guitar work from Emily Roberts -- and the latter pairing Abigail Morris Russell Mael lilt and syllabic gymnastics with the operatic splendor of Miranda Sex Garden. The remainder of Prelude to Ecstasy draws from all those influences, delivering a remarkably assured set of bold-faced indie rock and maximalist goth pop teaming with earworm melodies, intelligent, darkly romantic lyrics, and thespian bluster. ~ James Christopher Monger