The release of her sophomore alternative-pop album Prioritise Pleasure in late 2021 brought Rebecca Lucy Taylor aka “Self Esteem” immense critical acclaim and launched her career to new heights. The album was named The Guardian’s “Best Album of the Year”. It was nominated for the Mercury Prize. Self Esteem was nominated for the Brit Award for “Best New Artist”. Taylor composed the soundtrack for the equally acclaimed 2022 West End play Prima Facie starring Jodie Comer. In other words, Self Esteem has been unstoppable.
The first thing that needs to be said about the I Tour This All The Time show (a play on the title of the single ‘I Do This All The Time’) is that it is visually stunning. From the bands' coordinated outfits – which at one point includes them all donning red balaclavas, with the stage itself drenched in red lighting – to the sharp unfaltering choreography throughout, the show was simply a work of art.
The show kicked off with ‘Prioritise Pleasure’, ‘Fucking Wizardry’ and ‘Moody’ - all staple tracks from the Prioritise Pleasure album. The female empowerment message of Self Esteem’s lyrics avoids any gimmicky “girlboss” clichés and instead paints a refreshingly messy portrait of modern femininity. ‘Moody’, for example, opens with the incredibly frank and somewhat hilarious, “Sexting you at the mental health talk seems counterproductive”.
The spoken-word single ‘I Do This All The Time’ is pure poetry with its unflinching honesty about a past relationship: With lyrics like “One day I would love to tell you how the best night of your life was the absolute worst of mine”, Self Esteem’s message clearly resonates with the crowd, who recite the chorus with euphoric perfection.
Self Esteem’s commanding stage presence is intoxicating. The show includes equal moments of quiet rawness, such as in ‘John Elton’, as well as of propulsive intensity in the
thumping ‘How Can I Help You’. Rebecca’s backup vocalists are crucial to the beauty of the show – as many of the most breathtaking moments can be attributed to their angelic choir-like vocals or occasionally frenzied style of dancing.
Only two songs from the debut album Compliments Please made it into the setlist: the upbeat ‘The Best’ was rightfully played in the encore, along with sapphic anthem ‘Girl Crush’ earlier in the show. Rebecca’s bisexuality is central to her music, and with supporting acts from Tom Rasmussen and legendary drag queen Bimini Bon-Boulash, the show was an undeniable celebration of queerness. Self Esteem closed on a surprisingly gentle yet resounding note with ‘Still Reigning’, as the gorgeous soaring vocals of Rebecca and her band sing out: “The love you need is gentle / The love you need is kind”.
Photos by Kitty Tarleton.
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