The Last Dinner Party – Big Dog Review

Unfortunately, not a song about the biggest dog of them all, Clifford. No. The Last Dinner Party, albeit two for two on all-time great albums, has fallen short. Not really. Big Dog is a long-awaited release which the Nothing Matters hitmakers have taken their time to perfect in the studio. That translation from live show to permanent documentation is a tricky process, not least for a song that sounded unchained by a specific version. Those who heard the song live over the last few tours will be delighted to hear the band has translated Big Dog in all its glory to an at-home experience. A song destined to be this cult following (wahey) experience is still destined for such, as is the case for many artists who release a little extra after their latest album. Big Dog is a fantastic piece, and though it’s a shame to hear it missed out on both Prelude to Ecstasy and From the Pyre, its absence is sensible.  

Like Wild Grey Ocean for Sam Fender or Marrying for Love by Pulp, Big Dog is a great example of how artists must now protect and reject their works by sacrificing strong songs. Come All You Beasts, the minute-long, spoken-word opening to Big Dog, acts as an introduction. It builds the hype a little bit more. Dogs and pearls and wolves, iconography befitting of The Last Dinner Party, whose balance between instrumental fluidity and lyrical romanticisms is always a joy to hear. Come All You Beasts and that bridge into Big Dog is exceptional. A subtle segue that makes the two tracks inseparable. Effectively one song, but we abide by the rules of RateYourMusic, and thus, it is two. Big Dog is an example of that darker side to The Last Dinner Party that always lingers. It’s never out of reach, and hopefully, this is an indication of where the band may head next. From the Pyre has offered some exceptional work, but Big Dog feels like a sum of all The Last Dinner Party’s members. Everyone is given a chance to shine here.  

All around quality from Big Dog, with discussions of fame falling at just the right time for the band. They are now, indeed, famous. The band has tightened Big Dog up; a few notable lyrical changes in that opening verse for the dedicated fan will make this a version that doesn’t so much lead into the chorus and brace itself for the instrumental stylishness. Dark, muddy, and very moving work from The Last Dinner Party here. Listen in again, and again. That build towards the explosive, Big Dog blowout relies on Come All You Beasts. That spoken-word spiel is an atmospheric terror, that rising percussion, the ominous, haunting howls and whining guitar work. It’s punk in spirit, gothic in delivery, and it fits brilliantly with the image The Last Dinner Party has kindled over the last two years.  

Big Dog is long-awaited, and the wait is worth it. Any song that sticks around in the set but never finds the right spot for a release is better out than in. Yard Act found that with The Trenchcoat Museum, and it turned out to be one of their best songs. The same goes for Big Dog. This is one of The Last Dinner Party’s best songs. A vocal and instrumental powerhouse, one of the coolest songs the band has released to date. Repeating the title is often a cop out for those who aren’t as inspired as they hoped they would be by the context of the song, but for The Last Dinner Party, it proves to be a well worth returning to. They fish around for the dark and desperate, lashing out at whoever this big dog represents. Certainly not Clifford.