‘This is the Killer Speaking’: Inside The Last Dinner Party’s inspiration playlist
Some artists don’t like to talk about their inspirations, worrying that it makes them seem too referential, or would lead people to think that their own work was just a mere copy of something else. Luckily, though, not everyone is quite so secretive, and some artists have playlists to lay it all out, like The Last Dinner Party.
Maybe this is parasocial, but in our defence, it’s right there really. On the band’s official Spotify, not only are they sharing their own music, but they’re sharing their tastes too, linking to a selection of playlists built by the artists themselves. It leads you directly to their personal accounts, where each member has their own curated playlists, like any good music fan does.
Some are classics, like summer playlists, playlists for their days spent in a tour van, playlists for parties and so on. For any average listener, that would only be an insight into taste, but when peering into the listening habits of a band, you’re granted a quick and easy realisation of their inspirations and influences, especially when there’s a playlist named after a song they were soon to make.
‘This is the Killer Speaking’ was the first track revealed from the band’s sophomore album, From The Pyre, which takes everything they did on their debut and propels it forward into a world of fantasy and cinema, and into an even bolder sonic scene. “Good morning good looking, this is the killer speaking,” Abigail Morris booms on the track, swaggering her way through this charismatic character that takes no shit but will take prisoners. Immediately, it was something new and fun for the band, diving into a brand new world of references.
On Morris’ Spotify, there sits a playlist of them all. It feels oddly reminiscent of Paul Mescal’s character playlists that he builds to figure out new roles, as if Morris too were figuring out this voice. But as the band’s keyboard Aurora Nishevci, who also arranges their orchestral parts, is also in there adding classical scores, there’s the suggestion that what we’ve got here is basically the song’s moodboard, and it’s telling.
No wonder the song ended up so strong, as the compilation begins with Jerry Lee Lewis’ ‘Chantilly Lace’ where the opening piano flourish feels like a direct inspiration for how the band perform their own song’s bridge live, leaning heavily into the slow, lounge-style piano moment. But there are also pointers for the more savage side, coming from tracks like Johnny Cash’s cover of ‘The Mercy Seat’ or Nick Cave’s own ‘Up Jumped The Devil’.
There are more theatrical and cinematic sounds in there as well, like Scott Walker’s ‘The Old Man’s Back Again’, which feels like a perfect inspiration for this track that feels like a villain wandering back into town. Elvis Presley’s ‘Viva Las Vegas’ seems to nod to the silly, maximalist elements of it, while Gillian Welch’s ‘I’m Not Afraid To Die’ is more tender.
It’s a great insight, not only to the track being pieced together as a result of these chunks of influence, but also simply providing a vision of the band’s impeccable taste.
