It marks a quick return for a band still riding high from their Mercury-nominated debut, ‘Prelude to Ecstasy’ which reached Number One in early 2024. Their baroque-rock aesthetic, literary lyrics and ornate live shows drew immediate attention, and with ‘From The Pyre’, they seem intent on building on that success rather than repeating it.

The album was produced by Markus Dravs, known for his work with Florence + The Machine and Wolf Alice, and was recorded between London and southern France earlier this year. The band describe ‘From The Pyre’ as “a collection of stories,” a kind of mythic cycle that explores love, obsession, rebirth and decay. “The Pyre,” they said in a recent post, “is both destruction and creation — the idea that something has to burn before something else can begin.”

Lead single ‘This Is The Killer Speaking‘ sets that tone perfectly. Its music video, released alongside the announcement, is full of surreal Western imagery — duels, candlelight and symbolic violence. It’s not a straightforward single, but rather a statement of intent: all atmosphere and tension, more stage play than pop song.

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A second single, ‘The Scythe’, released earlier this summer, hinted at the same darker shift. Written when vocalist Abigail Morris was still a teenager, it’s been re-imagined here as a weighty, cinematic lament. Together, the two tracks sketch out a record that feels both more personal and more ambitious, something steeped in storytelling but still raw at its core.

The band have also announced a full UK and European tour in support of the release, with dates already selling quickly through their official site. Known for turning gigs into something closer to theatre — complete with period costumes and gothic staging — The Last Dinner Party’s live shows have been central to their rise, earning them a reputation as one of Britain’s most distinctive new acts.

Where ‘Prelude to Ecstasy’ was grand and immediate, ‘From The Pyre’ looks set to dig deeper into mood and emotion, balancing beauty with unease. If the new singles are any indication, The Last Dinner Party aren’t just chasing the same acclaim — they’re widening the stage, burning brighter, and stepping further into their own strange mythology.

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Released just after Drake’s 21st birthday, his solo effort was produced by Joe Boyd, who had already worked with Pink Floyd, and would go on to produce work by Toots & The Maytals, R.E.M., and Billy Bragg. ‘Five Leaves Left’ went largely unnoticed by the masses during Drake’s lifetime, though is now recognised for its emotional honesty, as well as its delicate string arrangements.  

The collection is split across four discs. The first disc includes Drake’s first Sound Techniques sessions, also known as the Beverley Martyn demo, and was at the centre of a legal row in 2014 over ownership rights. The auction guide at the time said that Drake’s “guitar playing is stronger, more baroque, with the voice smoother and more resonant than the highly produced released versions”. The second disc includes what is being called the “Paul de Rivaz Reel”, featuring recordings from Drake’s time at university, and was only discovered during the 9-year ‘Making of…’ project.

The original album’s engineer, John Wood, has been involved in the remastering process, and the sequence of the album has been deliberate. Where one Reddit user bemoaned two or three versions of songs being placed one after another, another defended the order, arguing that it allows for listeners to hear the creative process and the evolution of songs. 

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 Included in the box set is a 60-page book written by Neil Storey and Richard Morton-Jack which details the story behind Drake’s debut, and the efforts involved in this collection. Storey has defended the release against accusations of recycled material and price gouging, taking to the comments section of Super Deluxe Edition to tell detractors: “I began researching this project over nine years ago and to be tarred with a brush which suggests rip-off shows utter disrespect for Nick, his music and those of us who’ve worked as hard as we have to bring this out into the open.”

At the time of its release in 1969, ‘Five Leaves Left’ received a mixed reception. Drake’s talent was clear for all to see, but reviewers said that his lyrics lacked urgency and directness. The album’s reputation has grown significantly in the five decades since its release, and modern critics have been far more generous in their reviews, with Ian MacDonald calling it “cool and shady amid the celebratory sunshine in the late Sixties”.

Drake would release two more albums in his short career before passing away in 1974 aged 26. Sadly, he would never see how influential his work would become, having been cited as an inspiration by Kate Bush, Robert Smith, George Michael, and many more across a range of musical styles.

 ‘The Making of Five Leaves Left’ is retailing at £94.99 for the 4LP version, and £89.99 for the 4CD version, if bought through the Island Records site. It is the most comprehensive collection of Drake’s earliest works, and will prove to be a treasure trove of one of music’s most enigmatic characters. The album will be released on 25 July.

Frontman and multi-instrumentalist Murray Matravers have spoken to BANG Showbiz regarding the group’s upcoming new album, whilst providing an insight into the group’s creative process. “We’re already working on the second record, we started working on that six months ago after we submitted the first one. We’re pretty close, actually, with that one. We’re always writing in the background.”

He went on to describe the bittersweet benefits in which lockdown provided as well as the downsides in which the group encountered in their creative process. “It was the first time that we’ve been given an extended period of time to actually make music. Usually, we’re be writing music, touring and also not taking it very seriously at all. We’d always be doing music on the side, but this is the first time where we could sit down for a year and make music. It was a bit strange. I think the luxury of having so much time was a positive but also a negative because I was in danger of overthinking every single step of the process. Whereas usually I’d be doing the writing on the side and no one really cares… I wrote a lot of bad music.”

The new album will follow up their debut album ‘Life’s a Beach’ which was released on 28th May 2021. The first studio album was released through Island Records and landed at number two within the UK Albums charts. The fivesome’s debut sired five singles, the album’s lead single ‘Daydreams’ was released on 21st October 2020. Followed by ‘A Message to Myself’, ‘Skeletons’, ‘Have a Great Day’ and finally ‘Ocean View’, released on 24th May 2021. The album’s most successful single was ‘Skeletons’ and was performed on the American chat show ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ on 13th April 2021.

Before the group’s first studio album, their first mixtape entitled ‘Creature Habits’ was released in April 2018. The mixtape sired their first single ‘Pockets’, due to this release the group signed with Island Records leaving their previous label Chess Club Records. After which, the group started to gain traction within the industry, in September 2018 Easy Life performed on the prestigious music show, ‘Later… With Jools Holland’. The group began their festival appearances in 2019, they played the US festival South by Southwest as well as other UK tours. Easy Life have also earned their stripes at the legendary event Glastonbury Festival in 2019, where they headlined the BBC Introducing stage.

The group took the stage again this year within an unusual setting, the performance was held inside the popular video game Fortnite. The band played the virtual concert held on 24th June 2021 and their venue was an electronically recreated O2 Arena in London. The concert was held in partnership with O2, Epic Games, Globe and Island Records UK and can be viewed via the new digital space created by the developers, entitled Fortnite Creative.

The group made history with their set as they are the first UK band to perform via the new platform. Matravers has provided the following statement concerning the group’s latest revolutionary gig and also described how such technological advances have created more opportunities creatively. “In the game, you can just do anything. We’re performing underwater, inside a fish, we get flushed down to the toilet. The possibilities were literally never-ending, we could do anything.”

Easy Life UK Tour Dates

11/07/2021 – Rough Trade Bristol – Bristol
14/07 – Rough Trade East – London
19/07 – The Y Theatre – Leicester
21/07 – Metronome – Nottingham
22/07 – Rough Trade Nottingham – Nottingham
24/07 – Arts Club – Liverpool
03/09 – Victoria Park – Warrington
04/09 – Neighbourhood Weekender – Warrington
04/09 – Victoria Park – Warrington
25/09 – Northamptonshire The County Ground – Northampton
01/11 – O2 Academy – Bristol
02/11 – O2 Institute – Birmingham
05/11 – Morningside Arena – Leicester
06/11 – Albert Hall – Manchester
07/11 – O2 Academy – Leeds
09/11 – Barrowland Ballroom – Glasgow
11/11 – O2 Academy – Newcastle
12/11 – The Foundry – Sheffield
14/11 – The Wedgewood Rooms – Portsmouth
15/11 – Dome – Brighton
15/11 – Brighton Dome and Festival LTD – Brighton
16/11 – O2 Academy Brixton – London
17/11 – O2 Academy Brixton – London
21/11 – Limelight – Belfast
22/11 – Olympia Theatre – Dublin

The singer-songwriter has always suffered from anxiety, as so many in the industry do, and while his career had been blowing up, his mental health had slipping on a downward spiral. Garratt’s debut album ‘Phase’ won him the Brit award for Critics’ Choice in 2016, gaining him a lot of attention and praise. Despite the success, the spotlight and constant comparisons to other artists knocked his confidence hugely.

Now, Jack Garratt has made his way back to music, rekindling his love and passion, and being totally honest while he does it. His EP is the first of four volumes, which will end up being compiled into a 12 track album, due to be released on 29th May under Island Records. As described by Garratt himself, the music is for anyone “who likes dancing but doesn’t necessarily want to go out on a Saturday”. Along with the album, a film is in the works to bring the songs to life through the visual – to show the cycle of his mental health.

The lead song, ‘Time’ aired on Annie Mac’s Radio 1 show as the Hottest Record in the World, and has a video on YouTube which came out on the same day as the EP – this is the first video from the film. In just two days the video, which shows Garratt dancing alone in rooms filled with colourful lights, has reached over 40,000 views. The end of the visual only includes white lights, perhaps symbolising Garratt’s return to the stage and the spotlight.

As if fans weren’t already overjoyed with all the announcements and releases, the artist will also head out on tour this month, with shows in the UK and Europe. Check out tickets for the ‘Work in Progress’ tour on his website. Though he has sold out seven shows so far, Garratt has added two new dates in London, and making five dates available and totalling twelve shows.

Now age 28, the singer, songwriter, producer, arranger, and musician has always made music while exploring other avenues such as teaching, but signed with indie label Nickel and Dime to write multiple EPs and singles, as well as the album ‘Phase’. Through this time, he performed at festivals all over the UK and parts of Europe, as well as touring with Mumford and Sons in 2015. ‘Love, Death & Dancing’ is the first we’ve heard from him since his last album; the discussion about mental health is so important in the music industry, so by talking about his own mental health, Garratt has made a closer connection to his fans and helped many.