Rebecca Lucy Taylor is a consummate performer, to the extent of tangibly occupying a space as she does so. As Self Esteem, Yorkshire native Taylor arrives with the swagger of someone who’s spent years dismantling pop conventions before rebuilding them into something louder and infinitely more interesting.
The notion of doing all this beneath Cardiff Castle’s medieval walls – far from her first show in the city, and by a long stretch her biggest to date – feels like an odd fit on paper. In reality, it works brilliantly.
Taylor’s songs are confessionals disguised as anthems, therapy sessions wrapped in synthpop hooks, where vulnerability and bravado dance together in matching tracksuits. Backed by her trademark ensemble, Taylor – who has latterly branched out into acting herself – turned the stage into something between a modern dance piece and a feminist rally.
What makes Self Esteem compelling isn’t just the music, although tracks like I Do This All The Time (perhaps her most enduring single to date) and Focus Is Power have become generational statements. It’s her refusal to play the role expected of female pop stars. Funny, awkward, fiercely intelligent and completely uninterested in perfection, Taylor embraces the cracks.
Naturally, the Cardiff crowd respond in kind, singing, shouting and evening nodding knowingly through lyrics that come presented as large hooks and earworm choruses, but retain the sense of being internal monologues finally given permission to exist. Self Esteem left the stage having challenged, entertained and completely owned it, a rare level of achievement.
Self Esteem, Cardiff Castle, Fri 24 July
words JACKSON BAY photos ZACK KINGSTON-BUTLER
