Self Esteem has announced details of her forthcoming second album Prioritise Pleasure and has shared its defiant title track and accompanying self-directed video inspired by Madonna.
‘Prioritise Pleasure’ pulls apart and inspects the mantra running through the core of the album, unpacking unapologetically tending to your own needs, confronting your flaws and dealing with the ways you’ve been wronged. Prioritise Pleasure is due for release Friday 22nd October via Fiction Records, and also features recent single ‘I Do This All The Time.’
The video for ‘Prioritise Pleasure’ was directed by Rebecca Lucy Taylor (AKA Self Esteem) and shot at The Almeida Theatre with the help of Mr Mr Films, the second in a series following ‘I Do This All The Time’.
“The song is a wide screen mantra, remembering to put myself first and in turn making myself a better, more present person. My journey to accept myself is far from over, but over the last few years some of the age old simple shit has started to finally kick in. Love yourself, be in the moment, put your needs first – that all used to feel so abstract and impossible but with a bit of will power (and writing a tonne of songs about it), I finally not only see the benefits but am actively enjoying them.
The video is of course a homage to Madonna’s blonde ambition tour and also a testament to how hard work pays off. Me and the girls in the band did lots of zoom rehearsals and us nailing this choreo was a really triumphant moment for us, and choreographer Stuart Rogers who never doubts we’ll get there.” Self Esteem says of her new single and video.
She adds that her new album, Prioritise Pleasure, is “13 songs of cleansing myself of the guilt and fear of being a woman who is ‘too much’ and replacing that very notion with a celebration of myself, of you, of being a human and the way that isn’t always easy or perfect, and that’s ok. Sorry to my parents for the lyric ‘shave my pussy, that’s just for me’ but i think it’s maybe my finest hour!”
The follow up to Self Esteem’s acclaimed 2019 debut album Compliments Please, Prioritise Pleasure is a record that reminds us all of the importance of being our unapologetic selves, putting your insecurities out there in the hope that it can be the first step towards healing them.
Prioritise Pleasure tracklisting
I’m Fine
Fucking Wizardry
Hobbies 2
Prioritise Pleasure
I Do This All The Time
Moody
Still Reigning
How Can I Help You
It’s Been A While
The 345
John Elton
You Forever
Just Kids
Self Esteem will also be embarking on an 18 date UK headline tour later this year, taking in shows across the country including London’s Heaven and a hometown show at The Leadmill in Sheffield.
Tickets are on sale now via https://www.selfesteem.love/.
UK 2021 TOUR DATES
29th July – The Box @ FarGo Village, Coventry
30th July – Camp Bestival, Dorset
8th August – Get Together, Sheffield
1st November – Fleece, Bristol
2nd November – Wylam Brewery, Newcastle
3rd November – Clwb Ifor Bach, Cardiff
4th November – O2 Academy, Oxford
6th November – The Bongo Club, Edinburgh
7th November – Audio, Glasgow
9th November – The Workmans Club, Dublin
10th November – Gorilla, Manchester (SOLD OUT)
11th November – Belgrave Music Hall, Leeds (SOLD OUT)
12th November – The Leadmill, Sheffield
14th November – Norwich Arts Centre, Norwich
15th November – Sub 89, Reading
16th November – The Joiners, Southampton
17th November – Heaven, London (SOLD OUT)
19th November – Elsewhere, Margate (SOLD OUT)
20th November – Patterns, Brighton (SOLD OUT)
23rd November – Phoenix, Exeter
24th November – Hare & Hounds, Birmingham
25th November – Metronome, Nottingham
Photo credit: Olivia Richardson