Photography by Kaileigh Clark
Encapsulating audiences with their grandiose debut album Prelude to Ecstasy, the Last Dinner Party became a global sensation seemingly overnight. Sitting down backstage with our staff writer Ren Gibson ahead of their first Boston headlining show at Royale on March 24th, the five members of the group — Abigail Morris, Georgia Davies, Aurora Nishevci and Lizzie Mayland — gave WERS an exclusive interview. Trading accents for the duration of their conversation (The Last Dinner Party members speaking in an American accent, and Ren in a British one), they revealed some of their favorite aspects of touring, and reflected on their four years of growth since forming.
Plus! After reading through the pre-show chat, be sure to keep scrolling to read Ren’s review of the show, which she calls “A Modern Day Baroque Fantasy.”
SO MY FIRST BIG QUESTION, HOW DO YOU GUYS FEEL HEADLINING YOUR FIRST TOUR?
Abigail Morris: I think it's our first extensive U.S. tour. We played a little mini-tour last year in select places on the East and West coasts, but it's our first time going into America [and] being here in Boston.
It's an amazing feeling to know that there are so many places across this insanely large country that we could play a show like this that people will come [to]. A lot of them have sold out; we've upgraded venues. It's an amazing feeling that anyone cares, especially [in] America…
Lizzie Mayland: When we sell out in Europe, that's crazy. But America feels like a whole other level of like, what the f—? Because we're so far away and, you know, none of us are from here. And we haven't been here at all that much. And so it's such a testament to how the albums reach people, which is really amazing.
SINCE YOU GUYS ARE HERE, I'M ASSUMING IT'S A HUGE CHANGE GOING TO EACH OF THE DIFFERENT CITIES AND EXPERIENCING THE CULTURE OF THEM ALL. I MOVED SIX HOURS UP NORTH, AND IT'S AN INCREDIBLE SHOCK. I DON'T KNOW HOW LONG YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN IN BOSTON, BUT THERE IS LITERALLY A DUNKIN' DONUTS ON EVERY SINGLE CORNER.
Morris: Yeah, I did notice that. I was like, you've got a lot of Dunkin' here. A lot of that. Donut-heavy… Boston Cream, is that a kind of donut?
IT IS… IT'S FROM LIKE, THE BOSTON CREAM PIE, I THINK. THERE'S A PLACE IN THE NORTH END CALLED BOVA'S THAT HAS REALLY GOOD PASTRIES, THEY'RE OPEN ALL NIGHT.
Morris: Does anyone do gluten-free?
I THINK BOVA’S DOES.
Aurora Nischevi: And they're open all night, you say?
OPEN ALL NIGHT.
ARE THERE ANY STOPS THAT YOU GUYS ARE MOST EXCITED ABOUT?
Morris: I'm really excited to go to Canada. We were talking about going to a hockey game. I've always wanted to go, so I'll say Montreal.
Mayland: I'm really excited to be back in New York. We love New York. [We’re] doing two shows there.
Georgia Davies: I’m looking forward to being on the West Coast. It's warm, which I appreciate. [But really], all of them. Just excited to see new cities.
SO FOR TONIGHT, WHAT DO YOU GUYS HAVE IN STORE? WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE SONG THAT YOU'RE READY TO PLAY?
Morris: Well, I know that there's gonna be a lot of Berklee kids here, that A), my friend is bringing, and B), I feel like they will be here anyway. There's a song that we do that requires audience participation. So I feel like they're gonna be extra good, extra musical.
Davies: Is that a music school?
YES!
Mayland: Just give them harmony!
YOU GUYS FORMED JUST BEFORE THE PANDEMIC. HOW IS PERFORMING DIFFERENT NOW VERSUS WHEN YOU FIRST STARTED?
Nischevi: We didn't play our first gig until after lockdown, but we formed right in March, [during] lockdown.
Morris: I feel like it was more noticing the change in what people wanted from a band. Before, you could see the cycle. We went out all the time, and it was kind of that DIY, London feeling. And then throughout the pandemic, the pendulum shifted to people wanting more solo, bedroom pop. Luckily when we came out, it was when people wanted a live act again. People became even more feral about going out and going to live music and stuff like that because they've been deprived of it for so long.
I KNOW! AS SOON AS I GOT MY HANDS ON CONCERT TICKETS, I WAS LIKE, “OKAY… MAYBE LIFE IS WORTH LIVING!”
Mayland: We had tickets for a festival in Barcelona for three years! We kept rolling on, and rolling on, and then we finally got to go and it was like, ‘yes!’
WELL, NOW YOU GUYS ARE LIKE, WHAT, LIKE FIFTH ROW IN THE LOLLAPALOOZA LINEUP?
Morris: I couldn't believe that. I was like, ‘are you sure? What's going on there?’
THAT IS A HUGE ACCOMPLISHMENT.
Morris: Yeah, she's pretty cute.
OKAY. I HAVE ONE MORE FUN QUESTION. IF YOU WERE A SOUP, WHAT KIND OF SOUP WOULD YOU BE?
Mayland: Soup!
Morris: French onion soup. My favorite soup because it's got bread and cheese, and it's sweet and salty, and it's got all the things that you need. It's so good.
Davies: I'd be a miso. Love miso soup. Feels like it's a very Nourishing, very healing broth. Got that umami flavor.
Morris: You're a very umami girl.
Davies: Yeah, I know, I'm an umami girl.
Nischevi: I’m like a minestrone. I like variation, a little bit of vegetables, and some other stuff.
Mayland: I might go for like a roasted butternut squash. Autumnal vibes. With nice, fresh bread.
Show Review: A Modern-Day Baroque Fantasy
Seeing the Last Dinner Party live was like going to church. With large baroque-inspired elements in their music and influence from the members’ Catholic upbringings, it felt like choral arrangements that you would find in the Psalm book of the daily Mass that was penned in 1902. Of course, their sound is more modern than baroque-era music, but they are able to translate that era into the reality of the twenty-first century.
Each of the members wear outfit pieces that look strikingly out of a Da Vinci painting. Their fashion aesthetics include corsets, puffed sleeves, muted colors and flowy skirts (details which many audience members replicated).
SONIC SPOTLIGHTS
The instruments that the band uses are not just there to make their songs musical; they’re almost members of the band themselves. Their debut album Prelude to Ecstasy explores so many areas of experimental pop within itself, including ballads, cultural music, and many more that all find themselves blending cohesively.
Their song “Ghuja” — which is a love letter to keyboardist Aurora Nishevci’s Albanian roots — is performed with only the accompaniments of the organ and flute to highlight the stylings of traditional Albanian folk songs. Even still, it blends perfectly into their upbeat, indie-pop hit “Sinner.” Getting to hear the former song live made me cry because of how beautiful Nishevci’s performance was.
The band makes use of each member’s voice in their songs. For many artists, this layering is often done entirely in the studio. The Last Dinner Party, however, does it all live. All five members of the band harmonize, and let me tell you: it is a beautiful, once-in-a-lifetime experience.
A lot of their songs feature this particular layering, but one of which sounds the best to me is their track “Beautiful Boy.” The echoing of the voices towards the end of the song as lead singer Abigail Morris finishes with the end of the chorus is heavenly, melancholic, and gut wrenching in the best possible way. This is another song where I found myself close to crying, but trying not to out of fear of risking my mascara.
Not only is it just the band that gets to harmonize, but the audience is taught the harmony later in the set, too. Replacing the choir that backs the band in the studio version, for the bridge of “Portrait of a Dead Girl,” Morris invited the crowd to sing the words “give me the strength” while she continues the main track.
“THE FEMININE URGE” TO SEE THEM AGAIN
Through their storytelling, aesthetics, and, of course, their music, the Last Dinner Party is breaking standard popular music conventions.
Seeing the Last Dinner Party live was an experience that I will never forget. The crowd was overjoyed to accompany the band on the journey through their album, start to finish, earnestly being crowned the loudest crowd of the tour by Morris.
