BRIT Rising Star winners The Last Dinner Party have released their debut album Prelude to Ecstasy. Similar to several other tracks on the debut album, ‘Nothing Matters’ initially originated as a basic piano demo composed by front woman Abigail Morris. However, once Morris presented it to the rest of the band, the song underwent a remarkable transformation into an indie-rock anthem. This track has now gained significant popularity, dominating the airwaves of alternative radio both domestically and in the United States. Additionally, it has amassed over 26m streams on Spotify.

Recently a post on their social media they had this to say, “Recorded amidst the enchanting echoes of church studios in crouch hill in january ‘23 is now yours to love, cherish and worship. None of this we could have achieved without our incredible producer @james_ellis_ford, engineer Jimmy Robertson, the incredibly talented musicians @elysiancollectivemusic who joined us, our beloved @calmcintyrestudio who shot the cover art, our generous and charming @islandrecordsuk and our tour de force of a manager @tararichardson75. Thank you, thank you. We love you.”

Nevertheless, the London-based quintet continues to face persistent backlash as “industry plants.” This label is commonly used to describe musicians who portray themselves as self-sufficient and self-made, yet covertly benefit from backing and financial advantages within the music industry.

In response to the ‘industry plant’ comments yet again, Morris had this to say, “We all had friends who were in bands in that scene in London – I feel like that’s the only connections we had. Like, ‘Oh, my mate’s in a band, so he can suggest us to play at this pub or we could open for this guy’s band that we know.”

The Last Dinner Party was formed when Morris, Davies, and Mayland met at King’s College, while Roberts and Nishevci attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. They were brought together by London’s vibrant music scene, each bringing their unique backgrounds. Morris and Mayland had a background in choir, Roberts was a trained jazz guitarist, Nishevci was a composer, and Davies had experience in a garage-rock band. However, just as they began rehearsing as a group, COVID-19 hit. Despite the frustration, Mayland describes it as a “good gestation period” that allowed them to truly find their identity as a group before making their debut.

Now that their long-awaited album has arrived, the band are also riding the more recent high of their performance at Camden’s Roundhouse on Thursday evening, the first of many career-defining shows set to take place this year.

Listen to the full album below Prelude to Ecstasy.