Prelude to Ecstasy
As I've mentioned before, I am a sucker for a good album:
Not just an album with good songs; a good album. My mom is a massive Pink Floyd fan and I fell deeply in love with the idea of a concept album really quick, but contemporary music so rarely obliges me. In lieu of a good concept album, I will absolutely take any well-constructed, cohesive album and be glad to have it.
The Last Dinner Party's Prelude to Ecstasy is a really fucking good album. I'll admit, I was pretty suspicious of it to start with, because the single that kept popping up was "The Feminine Urge", which sounded meme-y in the worst sort of way.[1] But everything about it promised drama, and I can go for a touch of that, so I gave it a shot.
It definitely delivers on the drama—the whole album is dramatic as a soap opera. In addition to the fact that there are a handful of truly great songs on this album ("My Lady of Mercy" is probably my favorite), the whole thing comes together as a cohesive unit. The introductory orchestral strings of the title track (a bold move, but I like it) set the stage beautifully, and the closing track, "Mirror", ends with a similar orchestral section.
When I was a child
I never felt like a child
I felt like an emperor
With a city to burn
I got down on my knees
Begged the men in the trees
To give me an answer
Je ne veux pas penser
I also have to give special props to "Gjuha", a short song in Albanian written by keyboardist Aurora Nishevci about her lack of fluency in her mother tongue. It's a lovely song, and it fits the vibe of the whole album quite well.
Unlike my last two reviews, this album is not exactly fresh off the presses—in fact, the band's sophomore album is coming out in October. This one is really something special, though, and I have high hopes for their next one, too.
- It is a little meme-y and I think it would have been better if they hadn't leaned into the meme, but it's a solid song. ↩