Review: Self Esteem at Bristol Sounds 2023
Posted on: 28 Jun 2023With the dazzling sun made manageable by a healthy breeze, thousands of music fans shook off the Glastonbury FOMO and descended on Canon’s Marsh Amphitheatre for the final show of Bristol Sounds 2023.
The likes of James, The Levellers and Mika provided a heavy dose of nostalgia, but the fifth and final day of the much-loved summer events series saw attentions turn to artists very much of the moment.
Rebecca Lucy Taylor, better known as Self Esteem, is an unapologetic pop sensation at the top of her game with a Mercury-nominated album (2021’s Prioritise Pleasure) under her belt and a dedicated fanbase that made themselves very visible on Sunday with plenty of merch on display.
It wasn’t just Self Esteem pulling in the crowds, however, with organisers providing a bumper programme of three exciting support acts – each providing a thoroughly different musical flavour, but also contributing to the feel-good atmosphere that perforated the whole event.
First up was Nottingham four-piece Divorce. Despite being familiar with the band’s recorded material, I have never managed to catch them live and was excited to watch them in the afternoon sun along with a sizeable crowd considering the set’s early start time of 5 PM.
Despite declaring that they had “never played an outside show before” (in fact, they had “never been outside before”), Divorce were the perfect warm-up act with beautifully constructed sun-kissed country songs.
A particular highlight was the rendition of last year’s single, ‘Checking Out’: a powerful, fuzzy number, it perfectly juxtaposes murder ballad lyricism with warm, swelling feel-good indie. The layered vocals of Tiger Cohen-Towell and Felix MacKenzie-Barrow not only add a Nancy and Lee-esque quality to the songs but also reminds my mum (who was with me as my plus one) of previous Bristol Sounds graduates, The Magic Numbers.
I was intrigued to see how the next act would fair with Self Esteem’s all-ages audience. Bristol’s very own “masked drag monster” can normally be found in a very different environment with their club-ready, often vulgar tracks perhaps attracting a crowd at odds with the 6-music mums/dads and their children that made up a large portion of the crowd.
However, this assessment was clearly doing a disservice to the showmanship of an artist that I have had the pleasure of catching live on multiple occasions. Dressed in black and red motorcycle leathers and one of their infamous leather gimp masks, Lynks proved a smash hit for the growing crowd.
With tongue-in-cheek lyrics exploring the queer experience and plenty of crowd participation and banter, Lynks had the whole crowd moving and laughing in equal measure. Particular highlights included the number ‘How To Make a Bechamel Sauce in 10 Steps (With Pictures)’ – which literally describes the process of creating the delicious milky sauce.
A shout-out must also go out to the incredible theatrics of Lynks’ backing dancers, amusingly dubbed ‘Lynks Bodyspray’, who managed to cover all bases, seamlessly moving from munching on a cucumber to feigning death. This was a euphoric show of playfulness, queer celebration, lewd humour and plenty of new Lynks fans.
To say Anna Calvi’s sub-headline slot was the most forgettable of the evening says more about the pedigree of her fellow performers than it does about the singer-songwriter's own talent. Compared to the likes of Lynks and Self Esteem, Calvi’s show was far less of a spectacle with a backing band of just two and no audience repour – not necessarily a bad thing for a rock artist.
In the evening sun, fans were treated to forty minutes of moody rock bliss. Carving out epic rock songs with piercing vocals and guitar, Calvi’s songs have a certain darkness and grandeur to them (in particular 2018’s ‘Wish’), but perhaps could have done with a bigger onstage arrangement to awaken this more to a live audience.
With a style reminiscent of PJ Harvey, this was a masterclass in guitar playing from the experienced singer-songwriter, even if the songs occasionally seemed to amble along before they eventually displayed the power and intensity that characterises Calvi’s music.
Then it’s the moment everyone’s been waiting for, and the amphitheatre seemed to swell with music fans finding the best vantage point to catch Self Esteem live in action. As the sun began to set and the dramatic backdrop of St Mary Redcliffe and the M Shed’s Cargo Cranes, the words ‘Prioritise Pleasure’ (Self Esteem’s most recent record) appeared at the back of the stage and dancers and band entered the arena.
Kicking off with the album’s title track, Self Esteem is a pop powerhouse at the peak of her powers. Oozing charisma, the Rotherham native commanded her adoring fans with soulful vocals, wise tales of doomed relationships and empowerment as well as genuine warmth and gratitude towards her fans – who, judging from their whoops and screams, seemed to be particularly dedicated.
It wouldn’t be a pop show without a dedication to costume and set design and Self Esteem are clearly a group who pride themselves on providing audiences with everything they want from a concert.
At the centre of the stage was a flight of marble stairs used by the frontwoman and dancers/backup singers throughout the performance and both Taylor and her immensely talented crew went through multiple outfit changes, beginning the show wearing their iconic grey suits and finishing in equally magnificent outfits.
Like Lynks, Taylor is a master at wooing the crowd, at one point asking the band’s drummer to restart a song because she was reminiscing about ‘The Thekla’ and the “better air” available at the outdoor amphitheatre. The songs themselves are carefully composed bangers with melting bass and catchy pop melodies, particular singalong favourites were the aforementioned ‘Prioritise Pleasure’, ‘Fucking Wizadry’ and ‘I Do This All The Time’.
As the band danced off the stage to Shirley Basseu’s ‘This Is My Life’ and the crowd began to exit the amphitheatre (many of them staying behind to dance), there was a palpable current of joy running through the crowd. Many have dubbed Self Esteem a rising star, however, judging by the adoration of her fans and the sheer quality and production value of her show, Rebecca Lucy Taylor is already a figurehead to many – it’ll be intriguing to see where she goes next.
All images: Beth Whelan
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Stan is a born and bred Bristolian, recently graduated from studying English Literature in Sheffield. His passions are music and literature and he spends the majority of his time in venues all over the city, immersing himself in Bristol’s alternative music scene. A lifelong Bristol City fan, Stan’s Saturdays are spent watching his team both home and away.
