The Last Dinner Party continue to live up to the hype on ‘On Your Side’
The Last Dinner Party are, without a doubt, the most hyped band in contemporary music at the moment. Even before their debut single ‘Nothing Matters’ was released, the band were gaining bigger and bigger crowds as word of mouth spread like wildfire. Singles ‘Sinner’ and ‘My Lady Of Mercy’ only added to the frenzy, with the group managing to perfectly replicate the magic they foster on stage in their records.
Recently announcing that they’ve sold out London’s Roundhouse with a capacity of over 3,000, it would be easy to try and critique the band for seemingly booming out of nowhere or hit them with the same monotonous ‘industry plant’ stick they’ve been beaten with since the start. But with their fourth single ‘On Your Side’ maintaining the same levels of perfectionism, it is undeniable that The Last Dinner Party are utterly worth the hype.
Showing a different side to their sound, ‘On Your Side’ strays away from the indie-pop, art-rock bangers they’ve delivered so far in favour of something softer. To anyone who has seen the band live, ‘On Your Side’ is a firm fan favourite, providing one of the most stunning and angelic moments in their set. When performed live, the lights dim down, and lead singer Abigail stops prancing for a few minutes to stand still and sing this tender ballad that allows her insane vocal range to shine. As the outro fades with an extended guitar refrain, the band freeze with Abigail’s head lent on guitarist Emily Robert’s shoulder. No one in the crowd dares to breathe or make a sound too soon. Only when the guitar reverb finally gives up does the venue explode in applause.
If you haven’t witnessed them live, you’re in luck that this same energy feels imbued into the hypnotic track. You’re also in luck that the band’s fanfare shows no sign of slowing any time soon. With the kind of artistic vision and tight sound that deserves a lengthy career, The Last Dinner Party feel like they will make the long game and become a defining artist of our time.
A welcome softer addition to their growing discography, the band have also announced that their debut album, Prelude To Ecstasy, will arrive in February. Proving that they can do sadness and softness just as well as they do euphoria, ‘On Your Side’ ensures they don’t become one note by giving us the first The Last Dinner Party ballad. Taking clear influence from the vocal styling and storytelling of Florence and the Machine, who the band supported earlier in the year, there are also flavours of more left-field influences like Cocteau Twins, Siouxsie and the Banshees or David Bowie’s power ballads like ‘Rock’n’Roll Suicide’.
Moving from soft, sweeping verses where Abigail’s vocals sound as angelic as a Disney princess, the choruses swell and build towards truly epic proportions. Merging sad girl music with a real classic rock foundation, this song will have you crying on the floor and then make you stand back up again for one big singalong. Perfectly layered to let every band member shine in the instrumental, perfectly mixed to let Abigail’s vocals cut through it crisp and perfectly executed as a timeless track from one of the world’s most exciting new bands – ‘On Your Side’ is quite simply, perfect.
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