The Last Dinner Party have spent the past year accelerating from London newcomers to one of the most talked-about bands in contemporary guitar music. Their debut album, Prelude To Ecstasy, announced the all-female five-piece with grandeur, pairing sharp songwriting and theatrical vocals with a baroque-inspired visual identity that felt fully formed from the outset. Their breakout single “Nothing Matters” has since clocked more than 200 million streams, cementing the band’s place on the global stage and setting expectations sky-high for what might come next.
That next chapter arrived just recently with From The Pyre, the band’s second album and a record that expands their sonic ambition while sharpening their emotional focus. Already met with overwhelmingly positive reviews, it’s a confident, theatrical evolution that resists playing things safe. In early 2025, The Last Dinner Party will bring that vision to life on Australian stages for their biggest local headline shows to date- a particularly special moment for bassist Georgia Davies, who grew up in Sydney before relocating to the UK.
Ahead of the tour, Davies returned home early to spend the holidays with family, allowing time to reflect on a whirlwind few years and the creative shift between the band’s first two records. Comparing the experience of recording From The Pyre to Prelude To Ecstasy, she describes a noticeable change in mindset.
“We were emboldened with a bit more confidence musically. When we went in to make the first record, I certainly- just speaking for myself- was getting heaps of imposter syndrome and a lack of belief in my own capabilities as an artist and musician. That first record felt like such a rush to make because we were just trying to see if we could do it. For the second one, we were more inspired to take more risks musically and push each other, push ourselves to make it sound more complex, more mature than the first.”
With the success of their debut looming large, pressure occasionally crept its way in, but the band were determined to squash it and stay insulated by the trust they’d built in their audience, along with the confidence and experience gained since their first release.
“We felt pretty confident that we’d built such a beautiful and dedicated fanbase that were just really accepting and waiting to receive whatever our next offering was.”
Even so, the absence of a huge hit like “Nothing Matters” lingered quietly in the background. Rather than letting that dictate the process, the band chose to let go of expectations entirely, creating a more relaxed studio environment that allowed them to be more authentic. That freedom also meant grappling with the challenges of having five strong creative voices in one room- sometimes with too many ideas competing for space.
“Each song has its own story and the way that it came about. ‘Agnus Dei’ was probably the most challenging to pull together because it has so many different things going on all the time. We were at a point where either could have gone for 10 minutes if we didn’t stop it.”
Knowing when to strip things back became as important as knowing when to lean into excess, a balancing act that ultimately gives From The Pyre its sense of control beneath the chaos.
For Davies, the upcoming Australian tour carries an added emotional weight. While the rest of the band hail from the UK, returning home to headline some of the country’s biggest venues feels both surreal and deeply affirming.
“I love the fact that we can come back here and have people who know our music and feel a sense of identity and community with us.”
That sense of community has been central to The Last Dinner Party since their earliest London shows, where fans began dressing up, embracing the theatrical spirit of the band and forming connections with one another. Seeing that culture translate across continents has been especially meaningful for Davies.
“As we started in London we developed a bit of a following there of people who would dress up to come to the shows and find their own little community around going to our shows and feeling like that was a sort of safe space for artistic, theatrical, creative young people. It’s so cool to literally go to the other side of the world, you know, where I’m from, where I never expected to be back in a creative way, and to bring that sense of community to people over here, so that they also get to have that experience.”
One of the most poignant moments of that homecoming came last year at Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion which is a venue Davies had attended countless times as a fan.
“Walking out on that stage and looking out from the other perspective of performer rather than attendee was such a warp of of what I have always experienced and what I only have ever imagined what it would be like, and it was just so emotional because all my family were there and my high school girlfriends and it felt like such a beautiful reception and homecoming.”
From the stage, Davies has become increasingly attuned to the unexpected ways fans connect with the band’s music. Songs that may not feel emotionally heavy to the band at first can land with immense significance for listeners, and witnessing those moments never loses its impact. That emotional release is central to what she hopes audiences take away from their shows.
Sometimes, that connection can be found in the most surprising moments. “When people just love a song so much that they cry, I think that’s really cute. I’ve also loved seeing, on the UK tour, big groups of teenage boys just absolutely just belting out tunes. I think that’s great to see- young lads who are watching an all-female band, and seeing them just as musicians rather than as girls or as a girl band.” Davies muses.
Some songs, too, have taken on lives far beyond what the band anticipated. One standout is “The Scythe”, a track on personal grief that has resonated powerfully with listeners.
“I think that ‘The Scythe’ is one that I obviously knew would be meaningful to people, but it’s been so special to see. When we released it, there were just hundreds of comments of people telling their own stories about how they related to the song and what it meant to them… Obviously it’s about a specific experience to Abby, but it’s really connected with people who have experienced loss and grief, and I think that it’s just so beautiful.”
Known for their ballgowns, dramatic silhouettes and carefully curated visual world, The Last Dinner Party are leaning further into theatricality, even under the Australian summer sun.
“We’ve doubled down on the theatre for this upcoming tour. We put a lot of work into the set design, into the lighting. It’s been like a really holistic process in terms of getting everything to connect visually with the sonics as well. You can expect to see an immersive and theatrical production.”
As The Last Dinner Party prepare to return to Australia, for Davies it’s a full-circle moment- a homecoming marked by creative confidence, community, and a band unafraid to take up space.
Kicking off on Jan 10 in Perth, the tour will also see them hitting up Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney before concluding in Brisbane. Tickets are still available HERE.
THE LAST DINNER PARTY
AUSTRALIA 2026
With special guest SIR CHLOE
Sat 10 Jan 2026 – Red Hill Auditorium, Perth // Boorloo
Tue 13 Jan 2026 – AEC Theatre, Adelaide // Tarntanya Wama
Thu 15 Jan 2026 – Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne // Naarm
Sat 17 Jan 2026 – ICC Sydney Theatre, Sydney // Warrane
Mon 19 Jan 2026 – Riverstage, Brisbane // Meeanjin
Photo credit: artist supplied
