Self Esteem, AKA Rebecca Lucy Taylor, has released her new single ‘If Not Now, It’s Soon,’ which debuted as BBC Radio 1’s Hottest Record and is available to stream and download now, alongside a video by regular collaborator Piers Dennis.
‘If Not Now It’s Soon’ was partly inspired by Taylor’s years before her rise to fame – a time of hypersexuality, booze and self-destruction that precipitated the creation of Self Esteem. “You wonder who it was who made the choices in that town”, she sings, questioning her treatment of herself, while actress – and friend – Julie Hesmondalgh gives a call to arms: “Something will happen because it’s got to – it’s not just perseverance we need, it’s patience.”
It is about marrying the two things, Taylor explains: “Personally, you have to wait and one day you’ll get somewhere less painful. But the world will hopefully get somewhere less painful too. It’s about hope, perseverance and patience!”
‘If Not Now It’s Soon’ is the third song to be lifted from Self Esteem’s eagerly anticipated new album A Complicated Woman, due for release 25 April in digital, CD, cassette and vinyl formats – including limited editions – via Polydor Records. The album is the follow up to the hugely acclaimed BRIT and Mercury Prize-nominated 2021 album Prioritise Pleasure – an album of the year everywhere from the Guardian to the Sunday Times.
Self Esteem today announces her biggest tour to date, taking in 14 shows across the UK and Ireland this autumn, including two nights each at Glasgow’s Barrowland Ballroom, Manchester Academy, Bristol Beacon and London’s O2 Academy Brixton. Fans can pre-order A Complicated Woman to gain access to a pre-sale for tickets, ahead of general sale at 10am this Friday 28 March.
Pre order/pre save Complicated Woman here
Self Esteem – UK tour
15 September – O2 Academy, Birmingham
16 September – Usher Hall, Edinburgh
18 September – O2 City Hall, Newcastle
20 September – Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow
21 September – Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow
24 September – 3Olympia Theatre, Dublin
27 September – Academy, Manchester
28 September – Academy, Manchester
03 October – The Beacon, Bristol
04 October – The Beacon, Bristol
09 October – O2 Academy Brixton, London
10 October – O2 Academy Brixton, London
17 October – Brighton Centre
18 October – Utilita Arena, Sheffield
Described by the Guardian as “her best yet”, 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; Meatball and a bona fide Lancaster legend, the actress Julie Hesmondhalgh.
A Complicated Woman is about taking control of your life, summed up in the astonishing first single ‘Focus Is Power’ – which achieved the triple threat of playlists across BBC Radio 1, Radio 2 and 6 Music. 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.
