The Last Dinner Party does what they want, when they want — and it’s working

In the middle of the first smoldering day at Hinterland, London-based indie rock band The Last Dinner Party took the main stage for the first time in a sweaty blur of black, white, red and pink. Lead singer Abigail Morris donned a luxurious lace veil that bounced as she skipped from one side of the stage to the other, a red ribbon tied just below her knee.

The five-member band of 20-somethings are like a Gothic-era painting come to life, or some medieval tapestry. Their music videos are dimly lit banquets of corsets, frills and feminine rage, and with a debut album teeming with rich religious wordplay to match, they’re reaping the benefits of nailing down their aesthetic.

That all comes in a year when Gen Z has perhaps overindulged in fashion trends like bows and “coquette,” so it’s hardly a surprise that the band experienced its share of TikTok virality. Their song, “Nothing Matters,” from Prelude to Ecstasy, exploded on the app.

But the band hasn’t responded by cashing in on the likes. The individual members — Morris, Lizzie Mayland, Emily Roberts, Georgia Davies and Aurora Nishevci — barely have a social media presence at all. (They leave their professional accounts to keyboardist Nishevci’s younger sister, Elenora, to manage.)

“It's not something that we've ever focused on,” said bassist Davies ahead of their Hinterland performance. She sits at the center of the band, clustered and laughing together in their trailer backstage. “I think the way that we've built a fanbase in the UK has been through our live performances. So I think having some TikTok notoriety is kind of a byproduct of what we have done, but we've never actually tried to foster that.”

Overall, the band is just happy to be here. They’re an accumulation of college friends making art on their terms, and it’s made for a year of success for Prelude to Ecstasy. The band was shortlisted for the UK’s Mercury Prize, alongside Charli XCX’s Brat and overall winner, English Teacher's This Could Be Texas.

What they’ll do next is also just up to how they feel, Morris noted. For now, they’re happy to rock out together in puffed sleeves and gowns on the next leg of their tour, belting bold lyrics to crowds that grow increasingly familiar with their songs, “Sinner,” "My Lady of Mercy" and “The Feminine Urge.” But even as their current style has worked in their favor, they’re just as eager to experiment, as long as it continues to be sincere.

“I think one of the most important things for us is we don't feel like we have to do the same thing over and over again, because we've never done things because of trends, or because we think it will be popular, or we think people will like it,” Morris said. “We do it because we like it.”

To hear this conversation, listen to IPR's Studio One on demand or on air at 94.1 in Des Moines (or find your signal here). This interview is by Josie Fischels and produced/edited by Phil Maass. Video by Madeleine King and edited by Lucius Pham .