Prioritise Pleasure

Self Esteem - Prioritise Pleasure
Critic Score
Based on 18 reviews
2021 Ratings: #1 / 753
Year End Rank: #13
User Score
Based on 870 ratings
2021 Rank: #818
Liked by 64 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

100
The Guardian

The sound of an artist coming into her own, Rebecca Taylor’s remarkable second album as Self Esteem mixes the intimate and conversational with the unabashedly dramatic.

100
The Forty-Five

‘Prioritise Pleasure’ is an ambitious and vibrant testament to women but more importantly, a testament to herself. It’s nothing less than pop perfection.

100
Record Collector

Subversive, clever, of the moment and utterly joyous, this a record that reminds you how life-affirming pop music can be.

100
Gigwise
How being excited and disappointed and frightened all at once sounds. How being moody pretty much all the time sounds. Apart from all that, you also get one of the best-sounding records of the year, containing some of the strongest songs 2021 has given us.
100
Dork
‘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.
100
The Observer
With huge choruses and head-flicking 90s dance moves, Rebecca Lucy Taylor’s performance is a maximalist pop triumph.
100
musicOMH

A vitally important album: a record that could be a feminist manifesto all on its own. It fuses the pop genius of the likes of Rihanna or Taylor Swift with the searing rage of early ‘90s Riot Grrrl.

100
The Skinny

Taylor’s vocals are bigger and bolder, and the subject matter more expansive. Voicing the frustrations of fed-up women everywhere, Taylor is simultaneously angry and jubilant, criticising a society that puts women down while celebrating the things that build us up.

100
The Line of Best Fit
Rebecca Taylor expels years of self doubt, reckless behaviour, and self-destruction into an album that transforms these woes into a celebration of self-worth, sisterhood and, of course, pleasure.
100
DIY
Through her own personal stories - and those of others - ‘Prioritise Pleasure’ manages to challenge accepted norms and help to exorcise long-buried demons; it’s powerful to the last drop.
90
God Is in the TV

Prioritise Pleasure is a pop masterpiece and it’s safe to say that there’s no other artist out there doing what Taylor is doing as Self Esteem.

90
No Ripcord
She stands tall and proud, and finally looks forward. It’s a sign she’s moved beyond living to fit into other people’s boxes, but putting herself first. That might be a doomed endeavour, but it’ll be a lot more fun.
83
Beats Per Minute

Prioritise Pleasure is such an impacting album precisely because it wields that power of being too much – of Taylor being entirely herself.

80
Loud and Quiet

Rather than using pop polish to mask uncomfortable truths, Prioritise Pleasure hits so powerfully specifically because it uses the language of a pop record to state them frankly. It’s masterful.

80
Clash
'Prioritise Pleasure' is a strong offering with inspiring, soul-searching songs. The songs range from pop hits to serene tracks and Taylor shows that she can do it all with this second album.
80
Uncut
Her sound is equally ambitious but more committed: here are modern maximalist pop songs with top notes of R&B, trap and Afrobeat, plus experimental detailing.
80
The Independent

Across the album’s 13 tracks, she flits easily between pop’s peripherals and its core, dispensing emotional catharsis all the way.

80
NME
Rebecca Lucy Taylor's second album is assured, unapologetic and charged with a dark, smirking wit that’s impossible to turn away from.
NoOffenseBut
40

HOT TAKE: The critics are bonkers. Prioritise Pleasure is miles away from an 80+ score, let alone a 93. This album took some of the worst parts of generic pop music and implemented them all with substandard execution. The vocals are iffy, the lyrics are shallow, and the production is absolutely horrendous at times.

Doofy
69

Album cover the proof Madonna has done gone sucked the blood of ten virgin first born sons and regenerated like a crazy ho

again

marvelgaryen
100

Running from the obsolete, 'Prioritise Pleasure' is a one of a kind pop album. Self Esteem is bringing interesting production, also great combination of instrumentals, a lot of incredible vocal performance and supreme energy. There's a fine line in this record going between a confessional album & a surreal voyage with political nuance. The main road is of course a pop one, Rebecca Lucy Taylor is a brave artist and you can tell, she's not afraid to go in uncomfortable places, while she's ... read more

acidbb2
30

LATE REVIEW

It's honestly amazing how much the critics ate this album up and licked Taylor's boots given how bland almost all of the album is. The quirky production and vocals don't complement the songs themselves at all most of the time, resulting in only a couple of songs being salvageable.

Vulcan
6

I could tell I wouldn't enjoy it just from the name

quojj
30

Purely out of curiosity of the famous 93 critic score (and the terrible artwork), I took the plunge listened to this record.

And while I feel like I see the vision, this whole album is just so messy with ideas musically where I think it barely lands- it clashes, its hard to listen to, and it doesn't really deserve the right to have such glitchy over-the-top production. The lyrical content feels like it is supposed to be sort of mysterious and deeply rooted in the whole idea of femininity and ... read more

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Track List

1I'm Fine
3:01
65
2Fucking Wizardry
3:52
71
3Hobbies 2
3:46
68
4Prioritise Pleasure
4:05
75
5I Do This All The Time
4:53
78
6Moody
3:20
72
7Still Reigning
3:49
73
8How Can I Help You
2:21
59
9It's Been A While
3:03
66
10The 345
4:15
70
11John Elton
2:50
66
12You Forever
3:45
71
13Just Kids
2:19
63
Total Length: 45 minutes
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Added on: July 7, 2021