A Dinner Party You’ll Want To Attend
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In November 2023, a group of girls took the stage by storm in Stockholm. With a stunning performance and an ethereal duet with the headliner, Hozier, the world was hooked. The Last Dinner Party consists of the members Abigail Morris, Lizzie Mayland, Emily Roberts, Georgia Davies, and Auror Nishevci. I first encountered this British indie rock band when I discovered their biggest hit “Nothing Matters,” a song that envelops one in the freeing feeling of running dramatically in a long dress. However, I was officially hooked when I started watching their music videos, captured by their powerful cinematic statements and bold lyrics. With the musical allure of Florence + The Machine and AURORA, these 5 women bring their music careers to new heights as they infuse social commentary and passionate poetry into their work. Resonating with the themes touched on in their new album, “Prelude to Ecstasy,” I decided to break down some of their songs and take a deeper dive—turns out they have a lot to say about gender performance.
Image Courtesy: Crown Lyric
“Caesar on a TV Screen”
“When I was a child, I never felt like child, I felt like an emperor with a city to burn.”
This first might be the most inspiring of them all. “Caesar on a TV Screen” is a commentary about power dynamics and heroism. With beautiful medieval motifs, The Last Dinner Party creates a stunning and relatable work of art. The music video displays the characters of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar as the titular character grasps for control that lies right out of his hands. By the end, they take a bow for their brilliant performance as men in positions of power. “I can see myself as a man” is truly a telling line. To gain power, a woman must see herself as something “more powerful” than she already is, someone whose power isn’t limited because of gender. Due to how we are socialized into gender roles, women who love other women often can’t find their footing when they step out of the binary. Because the world is so conditioned into holding onto heterosexual norms, there can be a conflict in the minds of these women as they feel pressured to figure out who “the man” is in their queer relationships. Queer women often find themselves compared to men in an unfair way. Any trace of masculinity in those who are not men is often looked down upon, but The Last Dinner Party reverses this narrative. “I could be champion of my fate,” Morris sings, visualizing a life that she has control over, one in which she has autonomy over herself. This song is about taking back your power. So “wear the pants” if you want to!
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“The Feminine Urge”
“Do you want me or do you want control?”
Of course, with a song called “The Feminine Urge,” we can tell they’re with the times. Practically every lyric of this song is covered in beautiful feminine rage, highlighting the societal pressures that those who are not men face. The chorus strongly sings, “Here comes the feminine urge, I know it so well, to nurture the wounds my mother held.” The song conveys what it can be like for women to have daughters and know they are passing on systematic inequalities. “I could never give that curse to her,” they sing. Amid this anger, it is said, “All of the poison I convert it and I turn it to love.” We, the audience, are left with the uplifting idea of taking the unfair cards we have been dealt and making beautiful things with them.
Image Courtesy: The Broken Spine
“Beautiful Boy”
“He has the earth, makes love to her, to spite me.”
This haunting piece has the potential to bring you to tears. Reading just the title, some may assume this is a love song. However, the first line sticks out like a sucker punch. “The best a boy can ever be is pretty.” (It’s giving The Great Gatsby’s, “The best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool”) Now we’re listening! The lead singer clarifies the meaning in the next line with “and what I’m feeling isn’t lust, it’s envy.” Gender envy refers to feelings of jealousy when you see someone’s gender presentation that you admire. In some cases, the jealousy can be aimed towards the benefits of being perceived in a certain way. Women may have gender envy towards men because they believe that if they were perceived as a man, they would have more freedom of expression or gain more respect. As the chorus sings “I wish I was a beautiful boy,” a line meant to display envy, this idea is expressed in gentle singing and beautiful melody, also conveying that this envy could coexist with love and admiration. The Last Dinner Party plays with the idea of it being a “man’s world.” What they want more than anything is to be loved and admired by the world—like a beautiful boy.
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“Mirror”
If gender is a performance, these revolutionaries give a stunning show. With a sound like the Arctic Monkeys and Alexandra Savior, The Last Dinner Party ends their debut album with the song “Mirror.” Generally speaking, this is a song about being perceived through the eyes of an audience. Since 2021, the band has been touring Europe and the United States. As the band gains more recognition, they continue to be in the spotlight. So, it would make sense if this was a song about being watched in that way. However, there seem to be some other underlying themes of subverting the male gaze. “I don’t exist without your gaze. I fade away,” Morris sings passionately. The male gaze is generally known as the perspective of a heterosexual man in which most media about women or showing women is sculpted. The problem with this perspective is that women are being written by men, not by women. Therefore, women are not given the chance to represent themselves or to see authentic women in the media. As a performer, your audience wants the ability to define you with their praises and their critiques. “Pretty glass and an empty heart,” as Abigail Morris puts it, is what she is defined as because in reality, that’s what (or who) she is mirroring. “Mirror” could be a song about being perceived through the eyes of the male gaze, or it could simply be about being watched by the audience; they are professional performers. Still, it’s a beautiful piece about what you are and what is only a reflection of someone else.
These songs, of course, are not just for those who are in the mood to brood about gender theory. However, it felt appropriate to dive into these topics when celebrating the wonderful representation that The Last Dinner Party gives to many. Coming into the light now are five talented women with voices to be heard. Trust me, you’ll want to RSVP.
Strike Out,
Writer: Paris Feazell
Editor: Blake N. Fiadino
Tallahassee