In support of her new album, A Complicated Woman, Self Esteem, AKA Rebecca Lucy Taylor, has announced an intimate record store tour, including a date in Southampton on 24 April.
The album, due for release on 25 April, is the follow up to the hugely acclaimed BRIT and Mercury Prize-nominated 2021 album Prioritise Pleasure.
A Complicated Woman contains all Taylor’s musical thumbprints – complex thought processes unfolding in real time, an effortless knack of exposing the feelings women are required to labour under – but set on a larger, brighter landscape that is nothing short of exhilarating.
Running through the album is a jubilant choir constructed of dozens and dozens of mostly female voices – “a community of people. I want you to hear and feel the connection” – including close friends, her band and collaborators, that includes – but is not limited to – singer-songwriters Nadine Shah, Moonchild Sanelly and Sue Tompkins from Life Without Buildings, a personal hero, the drag queen Meatball, and bona fide Lancaster legend, actress Julie Hesmondhalgh.
A Complicated Woman is about taking control of your life, summed up in the astonishing first single Focus Is Power. Inspired by words Taylor wrote on a sticker, working from her mum and dad’s shed in the pandemic – “You see, it wasn’t up to me but now it could be / But now I see it clear with every passing of each year / I deserve to be here…” – the lyrics become an incantation when shared between the choir, something the accompanying music video (shot by long time collaborator Piers Dennis) echoes in its community hall performance.
One of the UK’s most exciting breakout stars of the past decade, Rebecca Lucy Taylor emerged from cult favourite status to mainstream hero following the huge success of her empowering, truth-telling 2021 single, I Do This All The Time. The song resonated intensely as a perfect example of Taylor’s affectionately termed ‘trojan horse’ or ‘salad and chips’ approach, fearlessly packing important, emotive messages into witty, resonant pop music.
Self Esteem’s wildly acclaimed second album Prioritise Pleasure quickly followed, tackling the hypocrisies and joys found in her experiences of modern day womanhood across dating, friendship, comparison culture, self love, women’s safety and sexual assault and much more.
Tickets for the intimate events – which take place at 1865, Southampton on 24 April with Vinilo Records, Leeds Beckett Student Union on 22 April with Crash Records, Rescue Rooms, Nottingham with Rough Trade Records, and Pryzm, Kingston on 29 April with Banquet Records – go on sale Friday 11 April at 10am on the respective record store websites.
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