‘Second Best’: The Last Dinner Party have never been cooler
The Last Dinner Party fans already know this song – and they have for a while.
Anyone who has seen the band perform live recently will likely already be able to sing along to the chorus. It’s one of those one-and-done situations that embeds itself into your head instantly, repeating over and over, “Ain’t it nice? Second best!”
It was the same story with so many of the tracks on the band’s debut album. After establishing themselves as a staple in the live music scene, it’s no wonder that the band managed to bag themselves major management and a major record deal, given that the songs they had were already tried and tested. Even before they’d released anything, and even when they were still playing small capacity venues and pubs, people knew the lyrics to songs like ‘Portrait Of A Dead Girl’ and ‘Sinner’.
There is no better proof of gold than that. It was clear before the album was even out that the band had crafted anthems, and crafted them in their own way. Those songs aren’t cliché or obvious. They maintain the group’s artistic uniqueness and vision, they are simply hooking and insanely infectious.
‘Second Best’ is no different. After debuting it in 2023, it’s been one of the scattering of new songs they’ve been road testing for a while now, meaning that fans have not only got to know to, but have heard it develop. Now, as the recorded version is unleashed, it’s the biggest, boldest and most boisterous it has ever been.
Written by guitarist Emily Roberts, she stands firmly in the spotlight. Having had her talent co-signed by her own hero, Brian May, Roberts can always be trusted to roar through a big, maximalist guitar line, and so far this era, as they work towards the release of their second album, From The Pyre, later this month, the riffs and solos are on fire. Roberts is rightfully being allowed to shine, but on a song like this, everyone is.
It’s impossible for Abigail Morris not to. With a voice like that, sitting somewhere between Snow White and Kate Bush, Morris’ range and characterful delivery just keep getting better. Here, she’s going all out opera, reminiscent of Lionheart era Bush as theatre and rock stand hand in hand.
With a punk-sheen over the top of it all, thanks to the more throwaway attitude of the lyrics and the rowdy confidence of the delivery, The Last Dinner Party, to put it simply, have never been cooler.
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