There is nothing that terrifies a man more than a woman who appears completely deranged
Continuing my trip up The Guardian's Top 50 Albums of 2021
#1 : Prioritise Pleasure - Self Esteem
In a pop landscape that often seems to be bottling it all up inside, Rebecca Taylor’s second solo album marked a hugely relatable uncorking of a lifetime’s worth of festering emotions, as well as her evolution into an out-and-proud pop star who dissects her emotions in pin-sharp, often darkly funny and always physically rousing testaments. The sheer heft and physicality of the album, all Yeezus beats and elastic melodies, is balanced by her ability to zoom in on the minutiae of life, paired with her economical wit. Often, Taylor is joined by a small choir of friends who reiterate and cosign her emotions: their presence anchors lead single I Do This All the Time, with its swelling coda of “I’ll take care, I’ll read again, I’ll sing again, I will” transformed into the ultimate act of defiance against those who once compelled her to diminish her desires and shrink her personality. After nearly two years of cooping up big emotions in restricted spaces, the bold, brash and beautiful Prioritise Pleasure hit like sweet relief.
And we've made it to #1 - yay! It's actually been a pretty pleasant journey - there's been a lot of albums I've enjoyed, with most of the rest being at least interesting. So - is the offering from Self Esteem the most pleasurable and/or interesting? Well...
...I'm not sure it's the MOST pleasurable and/or interesting, but it's certainly up there with the best of them on the list. It's confident and quirky, with her vocal delivery being clear and skilful over some interesting rhythms - Roisin Murphy and Robyn were brought to mind in quite a few places, so if you like a bit of those ladies then definitely check this out. I particularly liked "Moody" and "Fucking Wizardry" - some very clever use of rhythms and rhymes there (as well as a great title in the case of the second trackl!).
Wikipedia has surprisingly little on the album - basically the critics loved it (as you might have already guessed) and the public didn't mind it either, with it getting to #11 in the UK. Checking out her entry it tells me she's a multi-instrumentalist (the album entry doesn't make it clear how many people were involved in the creation of the album, but she's obviously no talentless figurehead) and started out as part of a folk duo, which takes a bit of imagination having listened to this album.
"Customers also listened to" mostly people I've never heard of, but She Drew The Gun saved my blushes (and I've even seen them live!), although I'd have to say I don't see an obvious connection. I wasn't previously aware of Self Esteem so am very pleased to be introduced to her/them - and I'm pleased to say I'm happy enough with this being #1 for the year (Fiona Apple last year was a bit of a letdown).
One final round-up to follow and then we're done with this year - I've had better ones personally, but I struggle to fault the music that's been produced this year and I've enjoyed my top 50 journey.
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