Self Esteem, A Complicated Woman, review: deserves to be heard live
'Be very careful what you wish for.' Rebecca Taylor, who performs as Self Esteem, begins her third album almost in medias res, with spoken word that picks up the thread of 2021's I Do This All The Time. That lightning-in-a-bottle single, and its parent album Prioritise Pleasure, won over a generation of women and sent Taylor skyward: Mercury and Brit nominations, casting in the West End as Sally Bowles in Cabaret and another West End run of five sold-out theatrical performances of her new album, one of which saw Madonna in the audience.
No wonder that A Complicated Woman's opening track is more stage monologue than pop song, given her recent experience treading the boards. 'I'm not complaining, I'm whinging in a new way,' she tells us, examining the trappings of fame.
Fame, for 38-year-old Taylor – who found recognition in her mid thirties, which is unusual for this youth-obsessed industry – has been complicated. 'Call me anything you want,' Taylor sings. 'Time's not on my side.' She finished A Complicated Woman at the height of Brat summer last year, and felt self-conscious about making such an earnest album at the opposite end of her thirties to 32-year-old Charli XCX. Tracks such as Mother, Lies, and 69 — a roll call of favourite sex positions — lean into that clubbier sound, but it's clear Taylor doesn't need to pretend to be a messy party girl to win accolades.
On Self Esteem albums, the message, though a vital one — exposing the contradictions of being a woman in your thirties — tends to outshine the music. Take away the empowering lyrics of lead song Focus Is Power, and what's left might sound like a corny charity single.
Taylor aimed for 'sing-along stadium tropes' on this new album, mainly achieved via a sizeable chorus who lend their lungs to many of its tracks, often to rousing effect: the chorus bolster guest Moonchild Sanelly's cry of 'what the f— you want from me?' on In Plain Sight, and add sway to alcohol dependency ode The Curse: 'I wouldn't do it if it didn't f—ing work / but it really works / and that's the curse.' Occasionally, the voices cloy. 'If you know, you know,' they croon on What Now: the kind of platitude that only Lana Del Rey can get away with.
Despite the choral boost, Taylor's music only really unleashes its full power on stage — it deserves to be experienced live. Just listen to The Deep Blue Okay, the final track on A Complicated Woman: its exultant, urgent piano chords that build and build — like those of LCD Soundsystem's All My Friends — beg to be danced to with all your friends, in a room full of people who feel the same way. Kate French-Morris
Best New Songs
By Poppie Platt
Addison Rae, Headphones On
With her debut album set for release on June 6, pop's hottest new star and former TikTok mega-influencer Addison Rae goes for full-blown glamour in her new video… by strolling around Iceland. I don't get it either. But Headphones On is another banger: a deliciously nostalgic hybrid of Janet Jackson and prime-era Britney.
Future Utopia (featuring Lava La Rue), The Pleasure Trap
Producer to the stars Future Utopia – who has worked with Adele and grime veterans Stormzy and Dave – teams up with rising British star Lava La Rue on this infectiously trippy, synth-heavy anthem.
Lorde, What Was That
She wrote pop masterpieces Royals and Ribs when she was just 16, released one of the 21st century's finest albums with 2017's Melodrama, and last year broke the internet with her feature with Charli XCX on Girl, So Confusing. Lorde is, usually, one step ahead of the curve; a singularly interesting pop star. Which all makes her hotly anticipated new single What Was That even more disappointing. There's cringey discussion about mainlining MDMA and idolising cigarettes that make her sound like a Christian youth camper trying to be rebellious. It'll probably be the biggest hit of the summer regardless.
Pearl Charles, Just What It Is
A gorgeously wistful Americana track about forgiving your past self and accepting the dark elements of your past from one of LA's rising stars.
PinkPantheress, Stateside
Another garage-influenced slice of Y2K euphoria from PinkPantheress, her whispery, deliberately cutesy vocals offering welcome respite from the frantic bass. Charli XCX collaborator and indie darling The Dare co-produced.
Sam Fender, Tyrants
Not content with having scored another Number 1 with his third album, People Watching, North Shields' answer to Springsteen finally drops this searing, guitar-led fan-favourite that was previously only available on vinyl and is now sure to storm up the charts.
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John Giddings, who has run the Isle of Wight Festival since it restarted in 2002, said performers need to be able to 'deliver' to a crowd and not just keep their attention on a phone screen. The 72-year-old, who represents artists ranging from Blondie to Phil Collins, told the PA news agency: 'It's gut feeling, really. I've learned the hard way in my years in the music business that some people might have sold a lot of records, but they're useless when it comes to performing. 'You want to book acts that have a catalogue that's going to entertain an audience for an hour, hour and a half, and, secondly, someone who's capable of performing to an audience of 50,000 people in a field, because they need to be able to project to entertain. 'When you look back on who we've had – Blur, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, the (Rolling) Stones – they're all capable of delivering, even if it's pouring with rain, which it doesn't that much on the Isle of Wight, thank God. 'But you've got to be prepared for everything and it's quality of performance, really. 'I do know artists who've had a million views on TikTok who can't sell 300 tickets at a club in London. Just because all these people want to watch them on socials doesn't mean they're going to pay money to go and see them in a field.' Mr Giddings – who also manages through his Solo music agency touring shows for some of the world's biggest names such as Madonna, U2 and Beyonce – said that as well as classic acts, he needs to keep an eye on the breakthrough bands. He said: 'Because I'm older, we book acts from past, present and future, there's a discussion in the office as to what new bands are coming up, and you're projecting as to what they're going to be doing in the year's or nine months' time. 'I'll never forget when I booked The Darkness when they first started out, they were supporting someone at Brixton Academy, and I went down there, and I walked in, and Justin (Hawkins) was sitting on the shoulders of his roadie, walking through the audience, playing the lead solo. 'I thought, 'blimey, this is the music I grew up on', and then they came and played the Isle of Wight and blew everyone away.' Mr Giddings said he was always on the lookout for new acts, adding: 'If the truck driver comes up with a good idea and it's a better idea than mine, then go for it, you can't be that arrogant to just believe what you think yourself. 'We've got 15 stages on the Isle of Wight, so whatever stage you're at in your career, you can play one of those stages.' Mr Giddings said one of his highlights from the Isle of Wight Festival was Jay Z and added: 'I remember thinking 50,000 people couldn't go wilder, and then Kanye West walked on with them and it exploded, and I turned to my left, and there was Beyonce standing there – I thought 'It couldn't get better than this'.' Mr Giddings said that he remembered the classic Isle of Wight Festival of 1970, which saw 600,000 hippies descend on the island causing the event to be outlawed for 32 years, and added: 'I remember walking over the hill, it was like going to the Battle of the Somme and you could smell them before you saw them.' After 23 years of organising the Isle of Wight Festival, he said: 'I absolutely love it, which is my downfall because I work all the time, I never think I've actually had a job. 'There's nothing better than sitting in an office in Fulham in November and it's wet and windy outside, and you're imagining putting an act on in a field on the Isle of Wight in June, and then you see it nine months later and people are going wild to it. 'It's the most satisfying thing ever to provide entertainment for people.' The Isle of Wight Festival 2025, which is being headlined by Sting, Stereophonics and Justin Timberlake, runs from June 19 to 22 at Seaclose Park, Newport.
