Label: Fiction Records
Released: 22nd October 2021
Self Esteem’s second album ‘Prioritise Pleasure’ is one of those those special records that’s importance and legacy will be felt for years to come, both for its creator Rebecca Lucy Taylor and the growing band of people she has been inspiring with her brand of deeply emotionally and physically resonant progressive pop.
Rebecca’s debut album as Self Esteem, 2019’s ‘Compliments Please’, established her decisively breaking down the constraints and perceptions of her previous music career in Slow Club, becoming an actual pop star in her own right but ‘Prioritise Pleasure’ takes everything to the next level. It’s a staggering step up.
You can hear the development clearly on tracks like the heart stopping lead single “I Do This All The Time” and the coursing rage that powers ‘How Can I Help You’. This is an album that rides waves of emotions. Rebecca is angry but she’s also hopeful, playful, inspiring and, at times, despairing as she documents what it’s like being a woman, not just in the music industry but in life in general and the injustices and struggles she has to face on a daily basis. She does it with grace, passion and typically laugh out loud humour. No one tackles big themes and issues quite like Self Esteem. No compromises. No boundaries. No stepping back and no fucks given. She also has bangers. Lots of them. Like the killer future R&B pop jam of ‘Moody’ or the soaring immersive tapestry of sounds of ‘Hobbies 2”.
Everything on this record hits hard. From the inventive sonics to Rebecca’s clever and dynamic use of her striking voice and vocal phrasings to the incredibly powerful lyrics that document her experiences in a deeply human way. This is a real body of work and stands as Self Esteem’s first masterpiece.
