Self Esteem has shared a reflective new track called ‘Love Second Music First’. Check it out below.
Shared today (September 13), the new song by Rebecca Lucy Taylor arrives as a B-Side to her current single ‘Big Man’.
It is available to buy and stream digitally ahead of a physical release of ‘Big Man’ on 7-inch picture disc vinyl on October 18 – visit here to pre-order.
“This is a song I wrote about my long-term lover,” the Sheffield singer explained about the inspiration behind the B-side in a new statement. “Music is a difficult lover. Controlling and toxic. I don’t recommend it. My heart aches but I can’t deny that nobody does it quite like them.”
The track comes as a modern take on the traditional ballad – combining a melancholic piano melody with electronic-tinged vocals.
“I look in the mirror and I see what I wanna see/ What would make me feel better?/ Is it being younger?/I look in the mirror and I see the real me,” Self Esteem sings, leading up to the defiant chorus: “Let me be, go/ Just some peace”. Check it out below.
For Taylor, both ‘Big Man’ and ‘Love Second Music First’ mark her first new songs under the Self Esteem moniker since the release of her BRIT and Mercury Prize-nominated 2021 album, ‘Prioritise Pleasure’.
‘Big Man’ comes as a collaboration with Moonchild Sanelly, and explores motifs of modern masculinity and gender roles.
Speaking about working with the South African musician and dancer Sanelly, Taylor explained: “Me and Moon wrote a song from the perspective of a good boyfriend. The ones that are just chill and secure so they just leave you to it. The ones that don’t want a medal for doing the bins.
“The ones that see that you’re working your tits off so they go and get yet another thing you’ve ordered and missed the delivery of from the post office. The ones that don’t take your success as a direct threat to their existence. To me, this is real masculinity.”
Earlier this month, Self Esteem revealed that she is well underway with work on her “honest” third record.
“I think I’m 70 per cent through making the difficult third album,” she began, adding that she feels some pressure to keep up the momentum from her last studio release. “No one has ever been that interested in what I’m about to do. The last album had its little moment, so I’ve got a natural amount of stress from that.”
She continued: “I used to have a very clear idea about what I wanted… Now the idea isn’t that clear. I don’t know if it’s because I’m burnt out or because I’m 37… My mate the other day was like ‘Is there anyone who has done what you’ve done?’, and I was like ‘That’s the problem, in a way’. Everyone else did it in their 20s so there’s no blueprint. At 40 most women disappear, and I’m just getting started.”
Speaking to NME about her forthcoming third album in 2022, Taylor commented: “I’m still whinging about loads of other stuff. ‘Prioritise Pleasure’ was only the start of the penny dropping.
“I’m still this hyper-emotional person, I find it all a bit hard and that’s where I’ll always write from. You know how Ed Sheeran just sings about loving his girlfriend? One day I’ll just be able to do that. For now, I’ve just got to fight injustice at every corner. It’s difficult, but I’ll do it!”
You can revisit NME‘s video interview in full above.
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