L. Mayland: To Slumber, Perhaps To Dream

      Due to the rapid ascent of The Last Dinner Party, Lizzie Mayland has experienced significant changes over the past two years. Now, the guitarist is processing it all through their debut solo EP, ‘The Slow Fire of Sleep,’ which is out now. This release is quite different from the grand and theatrical sound of their band, instead favoring a pastoral folk style that connects with Mayland’s rural background and reflects on the loved ones they leave behind while touring.

      When DIY speaks with Mayland, they are in the middle of a writing session, back in the studio with The Last Dinner Party as the band works on their second album. Louis Bloom from Island has previously mentioned that Markus Dravs, known for producing Wolf Alice’s ‘Blue Weekend’ and Arcade Fire’s ‘Neon Bible,’ is involved in the project. “We’re jamming some new songs,” the guitarist shares about the day's work. Some tracks from the album, Mayland notes, will be familiar to fans – suggesting that live favorites like ‘Big Dog,’ ‘Second Best,’ and ‘The Killer’ could be included. The atmosphere in the studio while creating new material is upbeat. “I feel like we’re all contributing more to the album, and that’s really exciting. Everyone’s confidence has grown, you can definitely tell. A lot of the parts are quite complex and interesting. I love the songs, and I’m genuinely excited about it.”

      On a personal level, Mayland is also energized by their solo music endeavor under the name L Mayland. They explain that the EP's poetic title is a reference to “what thunders along as you’re asleep,” highlighting how crucial sleep is for healing, growth, and memory formation. They mention, “It’s a very healing place, but being away from home so often meant I was sleeping in unfamiliar beds. Often while on tour, I’d wake up at 2 am wondering, ‘where am I?’”

      Mayland aims to incorporate these thoughts into the sleepless culture surrounding them, a world of incessant 24-hour news and the temptation to doom-scroll through global tragedies. They acknowledge that having a secure, warm place to sleep is a privilege, yet often, they found themselves “feeling scared of what news you’re going to wake up to.” This concern weighed heavily on their mind while writing ‘The Slow Fire of Sleep’ and continues to linger. While The Last Dinner Party was touring in Japan last month, the UK’s Supreme Court ruling — which, if upheld, could restrict trans people's access to gender-aligned spaces — was announced, and Mayland felt a sense of helplessness from afar. “I fell asleep and then woke up to everyone reacting [to the ruling] on Instagram stories. I just thought, ‘oh my god, something terrible has happened while I’ve been silent and cut off from it all.’”

      Spending extended periods on the road with The Last Dinner Party intensified these feelings of detachment and sparked a longing for home, which emerges as a significant theme in their work. “Home is a house on a hill, wrapped in flames,” they sing on the soaring and delicately picked ‘Homeward,’ accompanied by warm string flourishes. Mayland notes that similar themes appear in The Last Dinner Party’s ‘Sinner,’ which addresses the quest for belonging and the sensation of not fitting in. Ironically, Mayland highlights that nearly everyone experiences this feeling of being a misfit or an outsider. “I totally feel like something’s gone wrong with the human brain,” they reflect. “I don’t understand why we’ve all evolved to think: ‘I don’t belong.’ Everyone is feeling that way!” In contrast, their solo track ‘Homeward’ is “a love letter to feeling a sense of belonging in nature and the natural environment.”