Having started out as friends, the fivesome find they’re able to work harmoniously as a unit. As Roberts shares, their songwriting process was “different for every song.” Morris might bring a piano demo, atop which the other musicians would “layer up lots of riffs and harmonies.”  But she clarifies: “We’re not a jammy band, we never have been. We mull things over quite a lot.” Rather, they share such a deep admiration for one another, they’re able to hold space for their interwoven ebbs and flows. Friendship comprises the core of the band. 

“At the base of all of our relationships is a massive respect for each other’s creative output, ideas, and instincts,” says Mayland. “We also look after each other on a personal level, if we’re finding anything difficult or stressful we talk to each other and have that comfort with each other.” 

It’s an intimacy that allows frontwoman Morris to pull straight from her diary when writing lyrics. Blending her love of literature with her own life experiences lends the songs a flair and familiarity. “Run ‘til I fall/How I wish the trees would swallow me/Make me a forest/Take away my soul,” she sings on ‘The Feminine Urge.’

“It’s the over-dramatisation of your own life,” says Mayland. “Fainting, overcome with emotions. That energy but applied to like, meeting someone at a bus stop and really getting on. Applying that theatrical lens to modern day life, it’s fun and yields poetic, interesting language.” 

The quintet captures the intensity of being in your early twenties, that, with hindsight 20/20, those once bright colours seem pale. TLDP enlists aesthetics to craft that melodrama, in all its sensorial glory. “It’s fantasy,” says Nischevi, “it makes sense for the visuals to be combined to create this whole world. When different mediums come together, it’s so powerful. When you go to a film, the music makes it.” 

TLDR is bringing enthusiasm back to indie rock, and fans have responded proportionately. As rumour has it, concertgoers are showing up wearing handmade outfits, with pieces of original art in tow. “We have a very creative fanbase,” says Nischevi. When I ask what Canadian audiences can expect from the tour, they start shouting buzzwords. “Theatre! Maximalism! Fun!” jabs Nischevi. “Music! Friendship!” replies Roberts. 

“We joke, but people have actually made friends at these shows,” says Mayland. “Which is really sweet.” 

TLDP are ushering in a new era, one of unapologetic nerdiness and sonic catharsis, and listeners are flooding the gates. If it’s true, as Morris sings, that nothing matters, in The Last Dinner Party’s world, that’s a great thing. 

The Last Dinner Play play MTelus in Montreal March 29, Toronto’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre March 30, and the Vogue Theatre in Vancouver April 10.