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.
‘Prioritise Pleasure’ is an ambitious and vibrant testament to women but more importantly, a testament to herself. It’s nothing less than pop perfection.
Subversive, clever, of the moment and utterly joyous, this a record that reminds you how life-affirming pop music can be.
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.
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.
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.
Prioritise Pleasure is such an impacting album precisely because it wields that power of being too much – of Taylor being entirely herself.
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.
Across the album’s 13 tracks, she flits easily between pop’s peripherals and its core, dispensing emotional catharsis all the way.
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.
Album cover the proof Madonna has done gone sucked the blood of ten virgin first born sons and regenerated like a crazy ho
again
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
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.
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
1 | I'm Fine 3:01 | 65 |
2 | Fucking Wizardry 3:52 | 71 |
3 | Hobbies 2 3:46 | 68 |
4 | Prioritise Pleasure 4:05 | 75 |
5 | I Do This All The Time 4:53 | 78 |
6 | Moody 3:20 | 72 |
7 | Still Reigning 3:49 | 73 |
8 | How Can I Help You 2:21 | 59 |
9 | It's Been A While 3:03 | 66 |
10 | The 345 4:15 | 70 |
11 | John Elton 2:50 | 66 |
12 | You Forever 3:45 | 71 |
13 | Just Kids 2:19 | 63 |
#1 | / | Gigwise |
#1 | / | No Ripcord |
#1 | / | The Guardian |
#1 | / | The Sunday Times |
#2 | / | DIY |
#2 | / | musicOMH |
#2 | / | The Observer: Kitty Empire |
#2 | / | The Skinny |
#3 | / | God Is In The TV |
#3 | / | Loud and Quiet |