From the Pyre

From the Pyre is the second studio album by the British rock band the Last Dinner Party, released on 17 October 2025 on Island Records. Produced by Markus Dravs and mixed by Alan Moulder, the album was preceded by the singles, "This Is the Killer Speaking", "The Scythe" and "Second Best".

From the Pyre
Studio album by the Last Dinner Party
Released	17 October 2025[1]
Recorded	2025[1]
Genre	Baroque pop art rock[2]
Length	42:58
Label	Island
Producer	Markus Dravs
The Last Dinner Party chronology
Prelude to Ecstasy (2024) From the Pyre (2025)
Singles from From the Pyre
"This Is the Killer Speaking" Released: 17 July 2025 "The Scythe" Released: 5 September 2025 "Second Best" Released: 17 October 2025

The album is the follow-up to their critically acclaimed and award-nominated debut album, 2024's Prelude to Ecstasy.^[1][3][4]

Background and style

Originally, work had begun on the album in late 2024 with producer James Ford, who had produced the band's debut album, Prelude to Ecstasy, released earlier that year. However, Ford had to leave the following year after being diagnosed with leukaemia. By July, Ford had been in remission.^[2] From the Pyre was ultimately recorded in 2025 with producer Markus Dravs. The band said the songs from the album "are character-driven but still deeply personal," adding that the record is intended to be "a little darker, more raw and more earthy" than Prelude to Ecstasy.^[1]

Promotion and singles

On 17 July 2025, the band released the lead single "This Is the Killer Speaking" alongside a music video and the announcement for the album.^[1] The song, which originally debuted live at the Metronome Festival in Prague in June 2024, was described in Billboard as "jaunty" and "country-tinged".^[5] The second single, "The Scythe", was released on 5 September with another music video and additional details for their upcoming tour.^[6] On 1 October, they released the third single "Second Best" with a lyric video. The song, which took inspiration from Sparks (whom they covered on "This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us" the previous year^[7]), was written by the Last Dinner Party's guitarist Emily Roberts, and it is based on her experience in a past relationship that involved recurrent betrayal.^[8] Upon the album's release, the band revealed a music video for the album track "Count the Ways".^{[9][better source needed]}

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	8.5/10[10]
Metacritic	84/100[11]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[12]
The Arts Desk	[13]
Classic Pop	[14]
DIY	[15]
The Line of Best Fit	8/10[16]
MusicOMH	[17]
Record Collector	[18]
Rolling Stone UK	[19]
The Times	[20]
Uncut	7/10[21]

According to the review aggregator Metacritic, From the Pyre received "universal acclaim" based on a weighted average score of 84 out of 100 from 11 critic scores.^[11] Another aggregator, AnyDecentMusic?, gave the album 8.5 out of 10 based on 14 reviews.^[10] Writing for The Line of Best Fit, John Amen gave the album an 8/10 rating and concluded, "Pyre, like/perhaps slightly more than Prelude, is fiercely ambitious, gloriously messy, and wickedly entrancing".^[16]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Georgia Davies, Lizzie Mayland, Abigail Morris, Aurora Nishevci, Emily Roberts, and Casper Miles, with additional writers noted.^[22]

From the Pyre track listing

No.	Title	Add. writer(s)	Length
1.	"Agnus Dei"		5:33
2.	"Count the Ways"	James Ford	3:58
3.	"Second Best"		3:31
4.	"This Is the Killer Speaking"	Ford	4:54
5.	"Rifle"		4:31
6.	"Woman Is a Tree"	Ford	3:57
7.	"I Hold Your Anger"		4:21
8.	"Sail Away"	Henry Spychalski	3:59
9.	"The Scythe"		4:45
10.	"Inferno"		3:29
Total length:			42:58

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.^[22]

The Last Dinner Party

• Georgia Davies – background vocals (tracks 1–8), bass (except 8)
• Lizzie Mayland – background vocals (all tracks), guitar (except 8)
• Abigail Morris – vocals
• Aurora Nishevci – piano (all tracks), background vocals (1–8); conductor, string arrangement (except 8); organ (6)
• Emily Roberts – background vocals (1–8), guitar (except 8)

Additional musicians

• Miriam Wakeling – cello (except 8)
• Cristina Cooper – cello (1–7, 9)
• Cecil Bignall – cello (1–7, 10)
• Fraser Bowles – cello (9, 10)
• Jordan Black, Jordi Juan Perez – clarinet (1, 3, 4)
• Casper Miles – drums (except 8)
• Pedro López, Rebecca Speller – flute (1, 3, 4)
• Sian Collins – French horn (4, 7, 10)
• Elise Campbell – French horn (4)
• Eleanor Blakeney – French horn (7, 10)
• Lorna Blackwood – programming (2, 8, 9)
• Nathen Durasamy – string arrangement (except 8)
• Elliot Slater – tenor saxophone (1, 3, 4)
• Jane Salmon – trombone (4)
• Phil Entwistle – trombone (7)
• Adam Chatterton, Matt Roberts – trumpet (4)
• Harry Evans, Kaitlin Wild – trumpet (7)
• Helena Sánchez, Irene Katsenelson – viola (except 8)
• Jordan Bergmans – viola (1–4, 6, 9, 10)
• Duncan Commin – viola (5, 7, 10)
• Will Harvey – violin (except 8)
• Kelly Moncaka, William Newell – violin (1–4, 6, 9)
• Tadasuke Iljima – violin (1, 3, 5, 7, 10)
• Collie Chan, Yuliya Ostapchuk – violin (1, 3)
• Elena Abad – violin (2, 4–6, 9, 10)
• Cristina Morell, Laci Olah – violin (2, 4, 6, 9)
• Coco Inman, Iryna Glyebova, Stuart McDonald – violin (5, 7, 10)

Technical

• Markus Dravs – production (all tracks), vocal production (2, 8, 9)
• Lorna Blackwood – vocal production (2, 8, 9)
• Tom Roach – engineering
• Eve Morris – engineering (1, 3, 4), recording (2, 4, 6, 9)
• Fiona Cruickshank – engineering (2, 4–7, 9, 10)
• Chiara Ferracuti, James Poucher, Luke Glazewski – engineering assistance
• George Lloyd-Owen – engineering assistance (1, 3, 4)
• Rebecca Horden – engineering assistance (2, 4, 6, 9, 10), recording (1, 3, 4)
• Marta Di Nozzi – engineering assistance (5, 7, 10)
• Alan Moulder – mixing
• Finn Howells – mixing assistance
• Christopher Parker – recording (5, 7, 10)
• Chris Gehringer – mastering